London: Raising a serious question mark on Islamabad's claim of having curbed militancy, Amnesty International has ridiculed Pakistani crackdown on militant outfits.

In its report for 2003, the London-based Human Rights Group commented, "In January, four religious groups were banned and thousands of Islamists were arrested and held under administrative detention. They were released within days or weeks."

As compared to this, the Amnesty said, several people had been detained and handed over to the United States without proper verification.

The Human Rights Group also flayed the running of affairs in North West Frontier Province by six pro- Taleban parties, Muthahida Majlis-e-Amal, saying its decision to end co-education was seen as a setback by several women groups.

Seeking reactions from various people to the report, Pakistani weekly "The Friday Times" quoted an anonymous Pakistani official as saying, "We have an inherent habit of rejecting everything that we don't agree with."

Commenting on the report, Chairman of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Afrasiab Khattak said, "Every government in Pakistan regularly contradicts Amnesty's finding whenever it releases its report. The HRCP also receives the same treatment. The government has no patience to listen to the truth.

PTI