NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi today [July 4] banned 26 political organisations. The ban applies to several extreme Leftwing groups plus some Right-wing parties.

Among the latter is the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh... . Also declared illegal was the Jamaat-i-1slami Hind, and the Anand Marga, a religious-political cult in Bihar state and the Marxist-Leninist party, popularly known as Naxalites. Several hundred members of left and right-wing extremist groups were arrested in various parts of India late today, officials announced. Observers forecast that several thousand might be arrested in the next few days. News agencies [Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Islamabad,] Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said ... that the people of Pakistan wished the United States well and greater progress so that it can help the Third World in meeting the challenges of modern times.

The Prime Minister made these remarks on the occasion of a reception hosted by the [US] embassy here, to mark the 199th independence anniversary of the [US]. Mr Bhutto said that ... since 1776, the [US] has made tremendous strides.