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NWFP forms body to negotiate
peace in Swat
Peshawar— The Provincial Cabinet with Chief Minister Ameer Haider
Khan Hoti Tuesday formed a six member committee headed by two senior
ministers for negotiating peace in restive Swat district.
The committee will consists of senior ministers Bashir Ahmed Bilour,
Rahimdad Khan, and four provincial minister belonging to Malakand
Division which has been empowered to move forward the peace process
with the consultation of the elders, Ulema and elected
representatives in two weeks.
Briefing newsmen after meeting of the provincial cabinet, provincial
Information Minister Sardar Hussain Babak flanked by Secretary
Information Azmat Hanif Orakzai and Director Information Faridullah
Khan, said though the cabinet had no specific agenda for the meeting
but it reviewed various issues in detail and took certain decisions.
The cabinet laid great stress on the maintenance of peace in the
province with special reference to Swat District.
The Frontier Province, he said, was faced with the problem of law
and order after 9/11 episode as no serious effort has been taken to
overcome the growing problem. The coalition government of NWFP, he
said was sincere in bringing back the durable peace in the province
and will talk to every one who mattered in this regard.
The law and order problem in Malakand division, Mr.Babak said, would
be redressed through traditional jirga system.
The Information Minister said that the caretaker NWFP government has
overstepped from its mandate by massively indulging itself in
posting and transfers of the government employees.
To undo illegal transfers done by the caretakers in the province
during last four months, the cabinet directed the Ministers to
prepare a detailed report of the postings and transfers made in
their departments after the general elections in two weeks time, he
maintained.
The cabinet, he said, also reviewed arrangements about the proposed
visit of the Prime Minister to Peshawar on April 9 (Wednesday).
He said the cabinet decided to take up the mater of increasing the
strength of police force, availability of modern weapons and arms,
improvement in infrastructure of law enforcing agencies, recalling
back the FC platoons deployed outside the province with the Prime
Minister.
The Cabinet also decided to bring changes in the district cadre
recruitment policy of education department under which 60 percent
appointments would be made at the union council level and 40 percent
through open merit while previously it was 75:25 ratios.
To settle the problem of clean drinking water, traffic, education,
health and other urban civic facilities in Peshawar city, the
cabinet constituted a committee comprising provincial ministers,
which will submit its reports in two weeks time to the cabinet. The
cabinet, he said has also decided to take practical steps for
avoiding flour crises in the province and agreed to take up the
matter with the Punjab and Federal Governments. It hailed the raids
being conducted by the IGP and Chief Secretary over the flour
markets. A provincial team would proceed to Punjab to remove the
bottlenecks hampering the smooth flow of the wheat to the NWFP. The
matter would also be brought in the notice of the Prime Minister
during his visit to Peshawar, he added. —APP
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