1.   The two major traditions represented by the Communist Party and the ILP had become enshrined in increasingly sectarian parties.

2.   Parliamentary Speaker Yousaf Raza Gillani said he would ask the government to ban sectarian parties in Pakistan.

3.   And the dispossessed minorities found renewed inspiration in sectarian parties.

4.   Sectarian political parties are seldom viable because their agendas are usually limited to a religious or racial fanaticism.

5.   Since the latest round of violent attacks began, government officials have begun publicly contemplating banning sectarian parties, although no decision has been made.

6.   Some of the more outspoken politicians in Pakistan have suggested banning sectarian parties but no legislation has been approved to do that.

7.   A senior government official told AFP earlier that the detainees included activists from sectarian parties and Muslim militant organisations.

8.   Pakistani police have decided to take a tough line against militants of political and sectarian parties as another wave of violence erupted in this southern port city.

9.   President Pervez Musharraf Saturday banned two sectarian parties and an extremist organisation that sent thousands of volunteers to Afghanistan.

10.   The detainees include activists from sectarian parties and Muslim militant organisations, the official said, requesting anonymity.