Pakistan bans 'terror' groups

Pakistani police today arrested hundreds of militants belonging to outlawed Islamic groups and sealed dozens of offices in a nationwide drive to curb religious extremism and violence.

More than 1,500 extremists have been arrested since Saturday, when President Pervez Musharraf announced a ban on five militant organisations, including two accused of terrorism in Indian-controlled Kashmir, according to an interior ministry official.

The largest number of arrests - about 800 - were made in Punjab province. Others were made in Sindh and the North West Frontier provinces.

President Musharraf 's crackdown, announced amid high tensions between the South Asian nuclear powers, has been welcomed by Britain and the United States.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell will leave Washington for the region tomorrow to try to defuse the crisis.