Maulana Azhar banned in Sindh

He was on his way to address an Islamist rally at Sukkur, north of the Sindh capital Karachi. 8220;His entry to Sindh has been banned for three months underpreventative laws,8221; Home Secretary Brigadier Mukhtar Ahmed told AFP.

Sindh police also said they had refused permission to the country8217;s main fundamentalist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami to hold a 8220;jihad rally8221; here today. Islamist rallies were banned in December but the rule has been haphazardly enforced until now.

Witnesses said Azhar was stopped by the police and paramilitary forces as he tried to enter Sindh from the Punjab provincial border in a motorcade.

8220;Azhar, accompanied by his armed guards, was told that theprovincial government has barred his entry to Sindh,8221; a policeofficer said, adding that Azhar did not resist.

Despite attempts to muzzle him, Azhar has made several inflammatory speeches denouncing India and the United States since his release. Washington, which has recently accused Pakistan and Afghanistan of providing the new 8220;locus8221; of international terrorism, has described his speeches as 8220;deplorable and unacceptable.8221;