The Government on March 5 arrested 44 members of banned outfits as a crackdown is initiated amidst mounting international pressure, Daily Times reported on March 6. Those arrested include the brother and son of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) leader Masood Azhar. The Minister of State for Interior, Shehryar Afridi and Secretary Ministry of Interior, Azam Suleman Khan gave details of the crackdown in a joint press conference on March 5. According to officials, the drive against terrorists was part of a pre-planned initiative against militant groups. Any links to India’s repeated demands for Pakistan to take concrete actions against militant groups were denied as the real reason behind the series of arrests. The interior ministry said the move was to “speed up action against all proscribed organizations” in Pakistan. The Interior Ministry termed the arrests as “protective custody”. Rauf and Hammad Azhar, close relatives of Masood Azhar of JeM, were among listed in the dossier sent by the Indian Government in connection with the Pulwama attack. “It does not mean that action is being taken against only those individuals who are mentioned in the dossier “stated the Interior Secretary while talking with the media. Khan further stated, “If we have to take over any organization’s assets, we will do so. As assets of organizations already declared as proscribed, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 can be confiscated.”