Pakistan arrests 6 for collecting funds for militant groups

Pakistani police say six people have been arrested for allegedly collecting funds for two outlawed militant organizations.

Muhammad Ashraf, an official with the Punjabi police’s counterterrorism department, said Saturday that the arrests were part of crackdown against terror financing in the province.

He said those arrested were raising money for Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, but did not disclose the amount of money recovered.

The Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility a deadly Feb. 14 suicide attack in the Indian-held portion of the disputed Kashmir region. The bombing sharply raised tensions between India and Pakistan and brought the two nuclear rivals to the brink of war.

The leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed was added to the United Nations’ sanctions blacklist earlier this month.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been involved in the killing of minority Shiites.