PAKISTAN SHAMED!!

By Ghalib Sultan
Area 14/8

The picture on top says it all. A mob in the background and an exultant youth in the foreground with smoke, fire and burning homes all around. This was the scene in the heart of Lahore when Christian homes were set on fire because of alleged blasphemy by a Christian who had already been booked under the Blasphemy Law by the police on the complaint of a Muslim. The mob that went on the rampage looting and burning homes was apparently venting their rage. No one died and no injuries were reported but Pakistan’s image was destroyed beyond repair-collateral damage from the point of view of the bigoted and the intolerant but a mortal blow to Pakistan for those whose heads hung in shame.

Now that the smoke has blown away, compensatory payments made to those who lost everything, the rebuilding process begun and some arrests made a clearer picture is slowly emerging. The Police advised the people to run for their lives hours before the mob arrived and they ran-the men, the women, the aged and the children all ran for their lives in all directions away from their homes leaving everything behind. Why did the police do this-to facilitate looting and burning, to save lives or because they did not want or could not face down the mob to protect lives and property? If the Police had advance information did this information flow upwards and if it did was it ignored? And if it did not then why not?

There are credible reports that the mob came prepared for their grisly task—with sticks, stones, gasoline cans etc. If so then this was no spontaneous venting of rage. This was a well planned event for which a large number of people had been mustered and prepared. If this was planned then who was behind it?- those who wanted the land on which the colony was built?- or those who had political motives and wanted to undermine the political administration in Punjab or was it a combination of both?. The land mafia would have known the consequences of such an atrocity and it is unlikely that they actually believed that the land would fall in their lap after the pillage. The political motive is more plausible and is also borne out by the fact that after the attack on the Christians some apparently counter attacks were organized on the pride and joy of the Punjab government-the new Metrobus system.

The Punjab government moved quickly to limit the damage and to begin rehabilitation work. An inquiry has also been ordered and arrests made. No doubt that there has been political fall-out but on the positive side people have rallied in support of the Christian community and against the forces of bigotry and intolerance that exist in society. There have been many previous incidents of this kind but never has exemplary punishment been awarded to deter such behavior. In the final analysis the blame must also go to people who are ready to undertake such criminal and reprehensible behavior.

Pak helped lead US to Laden hideout: Clinton

WASHINGTON – Cooperation with Pakistan helped lead the United States to the hideout where Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday.

Hillary Clinton deliver remarks on the death of Osama bin Laden

The chief US diplomat played up Washington’s cooperation with Islamabad despite doubts she and other US officials have voiced in the past about Pakistani willingness to work with the United States to root out Al-Qaeda.

It is “important to note that our counter-terrorism cooperation over a number of years now with Pakistan contributed greatly to our efforts to dismantle Al-Qaeda,” Clinton told reporters

“In fact, cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding,” Clinton said.

Doubts about Pakistan’s commitment to fighting Al-Qaeda were revived after US forces shot and killed Bin Laden in a heavily-fortified villa in the heart of Abbottabad, a garrison city two hours by road north of Islamabad.

But a senior US intelligence official said: “We have no indications that the Pakistanis were aware that Osama bin Laden was at the compound in Abbottabad.”

Clinton stirred outrage during a visit to Pakistan in October 2009 when she took issue with Islamabad’s position that the Al-Qaeda leadership is not in Pakistan.

“Al-Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002,” Clinton told senior Pakistani newspaper editors in the country’s cultural capital, Lahore.

“I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to,” she added.

However, Clinton put the emphasis here Monday on the common cause made by both the United States and Pakistan.

“Bin Laden declared war on Pakistan a few years ago,” she said, adding he “was an enemy of the United States and an enemy of Pakistan.

“It was important for us to work as closely as we could with our Pakistani counterparts and it remains so,” Clinton said.

“We’re committed to this partnership, we think it is in the best interest of the security and safety of the United States,” she said.

Analysts say elements of the Pakistani military and intelligence services want to keep links with both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as they seem them as a buffer for arch-enemy India’s influence in Afghanistan once US forces pull out.

Pakistan likely to win GSP-plus status: diplomat

LAHORE: Austrian Ambassador Axel Wech on Tuesday expressed optimism that Pakistan would very likely win the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)-plus status in the next European Union-Pakistan Summit.

Speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he said that things in this regard were moving in the right direction. GSP is a formal system of exemption from general rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The Austrian diplomat also said that a number of projects for strengthening Pakistan Railways infrastructure were in the pipeline and with the execution of these projects the trade relations between the two countries were expected to reach new heights.

He said Austrian businessmen were interested in initiating joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts as the country was fast becoming a hub of economic activities due to its strategic importance and inexpensive raw material and labour.

LCCI President Shahzad Ali Malik invited Austrian businessmen to initiate joint ventures with local industrialists on 100 per cent equity basis. Pakistan offered a liberal investment policy and there was no restriction on sending back the principal amount, dividends, profits and royalties, he said.

Despite the fact that Pakistan had abundant natural resources and skilled manpower, it lacked technology, he said, adding, there were immense possibilities of gains for Austrian investors in Pakistan.

‘Raymond Davis’ Is Linked To Terrorism In Pakistan

Gordon Duff & Raja Mujtaba

The Americans, mis-identified by the US Embassy as “diplomats” are believed involved in covert or “black ops” operations inside Pakistan, reportedly against the government of Pakistan, America’s primary ally in the region.

Protests throughout the city of Lahore, university students, various political parties, demanded stiff punishment for a group of Americans, one identified initially as “Raymond Allen Davis,” now “identity unknown,” held on a variety of charges including 2 counts of murder along with four American security contractors currently being sought after fleeing the scene of a vehicular homicide in a related incident.

“Davis” is accused of two counts of murder and terrorism related charges. The other four, named to police but withheld from the media, are being sought for questioning in relation to a vehicular homicide while moving in traffic to assist “Davis.” The four, though described by Davis and the American press to be “diplomats” are believed to be security contractors who entered Pakistan illegally under assumed identities.

The four not yet in custody, believed to be Americans, fled the scene after killing Ibadur Rehman, a local merchant, during a bizarre incident. The Americans, mis-identified by the US Embassy as “diplomats” are believed involved in covert or “black ops” operations inside Pakistan, reportedly against the government of Pakistan, America’s primary ally in the region.

The victim of the vehicle homicide, Rehman, a bicyclist traveling on Jail Road in Lahore, was struck and killed by a four wheel drive vehicle that was part of what “Davis” describes as a “mission” in his statement to police.

According to the statement, the two vehicles, the Honda rental with “cloned” plates driven by “Davis” and the “chase vehicle,” a 4 wheel drive vehicle not registered to the American consulate, containing a 4-man armed security team, were heading toward the Mozang Chungi district.

Mozang Chungi is a densely populated area of small shops and street vendors typically only used by local residents. Security sources in Pakistan state:

“No American tourist or diplomat would ever go there, certainly not two car loads of heavily armed private contractors equipped for a mission of some kind. The only possible reason to be there would be terrorism. The area has been attacked before by terrorists, taking advantage of the crowds and confusion. We suspect we may have stumbled on the source of previous terror attacks and, in fact, broken up what may have become another ‘Mumbai.’

“This is a classic terrorist cover, false identity, phony license plates, car filled with weapons, radios and surveillance gear.”

INTERNAL POLITICAL ISSUES

Pakistan is, itself, governed by contradictions and what most believe to be an ineffective and corrupt civil government led by President Zardari, tied to money laundering in Switzerland, and an Interior Ministry seen as at odds with the powerful military. Pakistan is a nation of huge economic disparity with extreme wealth held by a few and extreme poverty for the majority, especially tribal minorities that make up a significant portion of Pakistan’s population.

Many Pakistanis long for a return to military government, citing failures by the current President, husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.

Accusations tying Pakistan’s Interior Ministry to “foreign elements,” US, India and Israel, intelligence agencies and private contractors, accusations alleging complicity in terrorism and money laundering tied to the massive drug trade in neighboring Afghanistan are commonplace.

REAL EVENTS UNCLEAR

“Davis,” in his statement to police, stated he fired in self defense. Weapons were said to be found alongside the bodies of the slain although counter-claims of weapons being “planted” fill the airwaves.

Autopsy results, as reported, indicate that both were shot in the back with special fragmenting anti-personnel ammunition, one receiving four hits to the back and the other three.

Witnesses report that two young Pakistanis were fired on by the American from inside his vehicle with a fully automatic submachinegun, firing through the glass.

Damage to the vehicle, a white Honda Civic, show shots to have been fired through both the passenger window and rear windscreen.

Media in Pakistan has given extensive coverage to the families of the slain, interviewing them and neighbors who indicate the slain had no criminal or “extremist” history and were respected in the community. In statements to the media, family members have demanded a “public hanging” for those involved, no “blood money” will be accepted. Islamic or “Sharia” law allows for cash settlements or “blood money” to be paid to family members of homicide victims in lieu of capital punishment or imprisonment.

DIPLOMATIC STATUS DENIED BY PAKISTAN

The man, held by Pakistan in the killing of two young men during a traffic altercation, is not “Raymond Allen Davis.” In fact, nobody seems to know who he is, including the US embassy in Islamabad.

Davis, and his four companions who have yet to be apprehended, according to police sources, entered Pakistan illegally, using assumed identities.

However, stories in the press in Pakistan and general belief by the “man in the street” say that the man being held is believed to be an American security contractor active in coordinating terror attacks inside Pakistan, working with Indian intelligence, the “RAW.”

The area of the city “Davis” and his four companions were driving to has been the repeated scene of terror attacks in this city of 7 million nestled on the Indian border, hundreds of miles from Taliban strongholds. Sources in Pakistan state that it simply isn’t credible that an American would be in the densely populated and poorest region of Lahore, especially an American with a false identity and rental car with license plates “cloned” from another vehicle 300 miles away.

“DAVIS” UNDER “SEMI-HOUSE ARREST” WITHDRAWN

Authorities in Lahore, Pakistan were allowing “Davis” to spend his nights at the American consulate and his days at a local police station. But now due to mounting pressures this arrangement has been cancelled. The United States government continues to demand the release of “Davis” though it has also refused to identify him or his associates or state their actual mission in Pakistan.

“Davis” is believed to be a native of Las Vegas, 36 years old with a military background in Special Forces. An internet search shows him to operate under a “one man” Florida based security company but there is, of yet, no known relationship between this entity and any State Department overseas mission.

A check of passport records show that “Davis” has traveled between Pakistan and Afghanistan 9 times during the past 18 months.

‘Rulers have failed to run country’

By Jawwad Rizvi

The government has failed to deliver and the escalating inflation is eating up everything. Good governance and management is the need of the hour to counter the inflation which has entered the phase of stagflation.

Giving up extra expenditures, the government should give the Charter of Economic Recovery, coming out of the Charter of Democracy. The government has given nothing to the general public, rather their wrong policies have even snatched the bread and butter from them.

These views were expressed by the participants of the Jang Economic Session on ëNew Inflation Blast ñ Ways Out for Public and Governmentí held here on Tuesday.

The participants included former finance minister Dr Salman Shah, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) chairman Javed Kiyani, Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) director general Muhammad Khalid, former president of the Lahore Stock Exchange Dr Yasir Mehmood and Civil Secretariat Employees Association president Malik Ijaz. The discussion was hosted by Sikandar Hameed Lodhi and Intikhab Tariq.

Dr Salman Shah said the economic condition had deteriorated and the rulers needed to admit that they wee not capable of running the government affairs. ìEconomy has entered the stage of stagflation as a result of the government policies. The IMF is also involved in bringing the economy to this stageî, he said.

Growth rate which has come down to zero percent from 8 per cent in 2007 , foreign direct investment (FDI) to one billion US dollar from $8 billion, investment to GDP to 15 per cent from 24 per cent and stock market to 10500 points from 16,000 points, he said.

He said that there was no economic management in the country, adding that when international oil prices touched the highest level, the two political partiesí prime focus was on the Charter of Democracy and on how to make a coalition. Three finance ministers were changed by the present government while the first finance minister, who was basically an accountant only, had announced the bankruptcy of the country, pushing the rupee-US dollar parity to Rs 85 for one US dollar.

Capital flight had increased while foreign direct investment stopped, he said, adding that the government had cancelled the Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) of the state owned institutions of $4 billion. By doing all these things, it had stopped the inflow of foreign investment in country. The payment of $5 billion as oil import bill had compelled the government to ask IMF for loans at tough conditions. The discount rate had increased to 15 per cent from single digit, affecting the industry and creating unemployment besides decline in production.
He said the present government was promoting the cartels in every sector and creating mafia at every level, bringing the inflation to the present level. He said that, until the mafias and cartels were broken, the inflation would not be controlled.

PSMA chairman Javeed Kiyani said that the sheer mismanagement on the part of the government was the cause of inflation, especially in sugar prices. He said that PSMA had informed the government about 1.2 million metric tons sugar shortfall at the start of the season but it had imported so far only 400,000 metric tons through Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP). He said that industry stocks had vanished now while the government did not offload its stocks in open market. He said that previous government had maintained strategic sugar stocks and timely intervention in the market, keeping the sugar prices in equilibrium during their tenure.

He said that the government had ignored the supply side economy, adding that, despite the fact that we are an agrarian economy, the country was facing food items shortage due to mismanagement.

He was of the view that increase in fuel prices and energy tariff would directly increase the cost of production. He said that two per cent monthly proposed increase in power tariff would result in 19.02 per cent by the end of this financial year, pushing the inflation higher.

PEPCO director general Muhammad Khalid said that the gas companies had curtailed the gas supplies to the thermal power plants of the PEPCO, leading to increase in electricity cost. Hydel-thermal mix was another factor of the increase in the power rates.

He said the purchasing price of one unit electricity was over Rs 9 while selling price was Rs 7.05, adding that the difference between the sale and purchase price was creating circular debt. To end the debt, increase in electricity tariff was crucial, he added.

Malik Ijaz termed the inflation a gift of democracy and the democratic government. He said the government had forgotten the sacrifices of the general public for democracy and were focused only on their own interests. He said that two big political parties were doing corruption in the country and were least concerned with the general public.

He criticizes the government for selling education, saying that education was being sold because it was not provided by the government.

Dr Yasir Mehmood said that the democratic governments always brought policy shift and focused on the agriculture sector in order to ensure transfer of wealth to rural areas. He said that government subsidied the agriculture input while increased the rates of the output.

He said that it was crucial to increase tax to GDP ratio, calling for addressing the issue on priority basis by increasing the direct taxes. ìNo holy cow should be exempted from tax,î he added.

He said that uncertainty about the economic policy had reached its maximum as no one knew how long an economic decision of the government would stay. No investment would come, until clear policies were be made for the economic development of the country. ‘The country needs Charter of Economic Development on urgent basis’, he said.

Asma says she is not afraid of judges, generals, rulers

LAHORE: Newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir has said that she is neither afraid of judges, generals or rulers nor will she take dictation from anyone.

“I have been an independent woman throughout my life. I am not scared of the army, establishment, judges, prime minister or president. The relations with all these institutions or persons will be established on the basis of equality. They will be respected if they will respect us,” she said while talking to the media on the Lahore High Court premises here on Thursday.

Dispelling the impression that she was against the judiciary, Ms Asma said she had decades old relations with the judiciary and the propaganda in this regard should be shunned. She said she believed in independence of the judiciary and she had paid a price for the cause in the past when she along with thousands of people was thrown in jail. She said she had been knocking the door of the judiciary even when it was not independent. She said what she and other people had done for cause of independent judiciary should not be reckoned as “sacrifice” rather they were indebted to their country which they had tried to pay back to its people. She pointed out that they were gone to jail by choice and were ready to go again for judiciary or other people-related issues.

Asma Jehangir said a vilification campaign was launched against her and in such circumstance her victory was a great success. She said lawyers could differentiate between right and wrong. She said she strongly believed in the freedom of the press because it ensured protection of people’s rights.

A large number of Asma’s supporters who had gathered there were chanting slogans in her favour. Sweets were also distributed among the lawyers. Agencies add: Asma Jehangir said that an independent bar was vital to the independent judiciary, adding that lawyers had elected an independent and enlightened bar in the election.

“We are neither with the government nor with the judiciary rather, we will play our role in an independent capacity,” she said and vowed to play her role for the provision of justice to thousands of people who were imprisoned and waiting for justice. She said she was thankful that every political leader had congratulated her victory, and said that she was quite.

Shaukat sees end to religion-based militancy in Kashmir

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Kashmiri leader Shaukat Maqbool Butt sees an end to religion-based militancy inside the valley and states that Kashmiris are reviving their secular values which can be gauged by the fact that they have picked up stones against occupying forces in the area, referring to recent protests launched by the people of Indian-held Kashmir.

Shaukat is the son of famous Kashmiri revolutionary leader Maqbool Butt who died during the guerrilla struggle against Indian occupation of his motherland, on the footsteps of Che Guevara, and his other predecessors from the left. His son Shaukat and his companions continued their struggle facing challenges after challenges on both sides of the border.

Currently, Shaukat is leading the National Liberation Conference (NLC), a left wing pro-independence political party, and is also founder of a consortium of different nationalist parties called the All Parties National Alliance (APNA) and said that the Kashmiris were facing the brunt of the enmity between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory, which is a matter of life and death for both archrivals.

However, Shaukat has a different point of view on the issue and during an interview with Daily Times on his recent visit to Lahore, he said, “Religious extremism was never part of a Kashmiri lifestyle and people from all religions were peacefully living in the area for centuries despite the fact that they were suppressed by different imperialist forces at the same time.”

He said his father, regarded as the founding father of the current independence movement for the formerly princely state, started the strongest-ever freedom struggle in Indian-held Kashmir, which has now turned into a more sophisticated one by the locals who actually desire an independent state out of the influence of both Pakistan and India as well as any other foreign powers and the struggle is still going on.

He said Indians tried their best to crush this struggle and the Pakistani establishment also launched militancy inside the disputed territory in the name of religion, but it could not succeed because Kashmiris never believed in religious extremism and now do not even believe in any armed struggle, but want to secure their freedom through political dialogue and campaigning across the world.

Shaukat said Kashmiris had got sick and tired of living under the influence of both Pakistan and India because they had faced physical and mental loss throughout history during the tussle between both the countries. He said his party welcomed the friendship initiatives taken by both sides, yet they believed that the inter-Kashmir bus service as well as trade was heavily controlled by the intelligence agencies and bureaucracy on both sides of the border and they were only allowing selected people to visit their relatives of trade across border.

He said that most Kashmiris were still deprived of the facility of moving across the valley and especially those who had differences of opinion with Pakistani or Indian establishments were still barred from moving around. Shaukat said he himself had tried to visit his relatives in IHK but was not granted permission. He said an independent Kashmir was in the best interest of all stakeholders, but Pakistani and Indian establishments did not understand this.

He said that a free Kashmiri state would definitely end the bloody rivalry between both the countries, as it remained a bone of contention and the root cause of so many wars and bloodshed in the past between the two countries. He said both the countries were keeping a stranglehold on natural resources in the region, which actually belonged to the people of the soil.

“Pakistan faces a major water crisis and blames India for the phenomenon as it has control over the origin of the water resources. This will not be the case if there is an independent Kashmir as the Kashmiris sympathised with their Pakistani brothers and don’t believe in persecution after facing it themselves at the hands of foreign powers,” he explained.

He said the Pakistani establishment also had a hold on the Kashmiris’ resources and pretended to be feeding the Kashmiris while they were actually utilising their resources. He added that he and all other Kashmiris believed that the government of Pakistan violated their own constitution by declaring Gilgit-Baltistan a separate province when the territory was declared a part of Azad Jammu and Kashmir state under the same constitution.

Shaukat said those who migrated from IHK to AJK were still facing an identity crisis as the Pakistan government was hesitant in issuing them identity cards. He said the recent peaceful protests against Indian occupation and its army’s role in the valley following an intifada was a clear indication that the Kashmiris had strongly rejected religion-based militancy.

“We never wanted to kick any Kashmiri out of their homeland on the basis of caste, creed or colour. We have been living with Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and people of other faiths peacefully for centuries and want all those who were kicked out of the state by religious fundamentalists back,” Shaukat asserted.

29 Baboos challenge promotions to grade-22 by PM

LAHORE: Twenty-nine senior officers of grade 21 moved a petition in the Supreme Court against Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s order to promote junior officers to grade 22. They said that the prime minister had violated the promotion policy and committed a contempt of court as the Supreme Court ordered that promotion on top posts should be ensured on merit basis, but the prime minister ignored senior proficient officials and promoted his choice junior officers to grade 22. The petitioners appealed to the Supreme Court to ask the government real reason of unmerited promotion.The petitioners include DMG, police and foreign services officials identified as Farkhanda Wasim Afzal, Hameera Ahsan, Rana Raheem, Salahudin Niazi, Muhammad Wasim, Mirza Shahmshad, Fasihuddin Munawar Opal, Hafeed-ul-Rehman and Ahsan Wasim Afzal.

It’s time to decide against govt. Nawaz

Says campaign against judiciary must end; terms grants for bars a conspiracy; demands submarine deal commission takers be brought to book.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that the campaign against the judiciary should come to an end because conspiracies to destabilise the institutions would never be in the national interest.

Talking to reporters at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Tuesday, he asked the government to mend its ways. Nawaz expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s style of handling issues, saying the country was not moving towards improvement, and it was high time that ‘some decisions’ were made against the government. He said they would not become silent spectators.

He said it would be in the government’s interest to improve working and pay heed to the implementation of court verdicts. He said the PML-N had some serious reservations about the government method of handling the issues.

About the distribution of funds by the PPP government among various bar associations, Nawaz Sharif said it was an attempt to create a division in the legal fraternity, and hatch a conspiracy against the judiciary. He said he held in high esteem the bar associations which refused to accept such grants. “If the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is a right legislation, all prisoners languishing in jails should also be freed under it,” he added.

Nawaz said the nation would never forgive if the incumbent leadership failed to meet the expectations of the people, adding the PML-N believed in serving the nation to its maximum capacity.

Earlier, addressing a meeting on development projects in the Punjab, the PML-N chief stressed the need for speeding up the process for generating electricity from solid waste. He said the provincial government should initiate a plan to tackle the ongoing electricity crisis in the country.

Agencies add: In reply to a question, Nawaz said: “I don’t want to use the word ‘warning’ (to the government); however, the government will have to take some corrective measures”. The PML-N chief vowed to counter all kinds of conspiracies against the judiciary, asserting his party would not remain indifferent to the developments. “Is it legitimate to appoint a law associate as the law secretary?” he asked.

To a question, he said the Army generals then appointed to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) acquired plots. The politicians and dictators, who plundered the national exchequer, should be taken to the task, he said, adding the accountability process must also be initiated to probe into the loot and plunder during eight black years of the Musharraf regime. He also called for bringing to justice those who had taken huge amount as commission in the deal of Agosta submarines.

To another question, Nawaz Sharif said: “After rendering sacrifices, we got the 18th Amendment passed from parliament and real democracy would be protected at all costs.” He said it was never the motto of Pakistan’s creation that we, as a nation, would always be carrying begging bowls to the world for financial aid. “During our tenures in governments, we had launched development projects without taking any foreign monetary assistance,” he claimed.

Nawaz said huge corruption of Rs 300 billion was being committed in the country’s institutions, and suggested that arresting the menace of corruption could lead Pakistan towards independence and prosperity. “We have to create an enabling environment for investment to alleviate poverty,” he added.

He said the PML-N would requisition the National Assembly session to discuss the present-day problems at length. “We have been stunned by the government priorities. The people are committing suicides, but huge funds are being doled out to bar associations. Every decision of the government stems from lust,” he remarked.

Taliban planning major attack on Peshawar

* KP info minister says thousands of terrorists have gathered in small groups in Orakzai, Mohmand and Khyber agencies

LAHORE: The Taliban are in the process of reorganising themselves around Peshawar as they are planning to carry out a major attack in the city, but the provincial government will soon take strong action against these militants, a private TV channel quoted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain as saying on Sunday.

Iftikhar was addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club where Awami National Party KP President Afrasiab Khattak was also present.

Threat: According to the channel, Iftikhar said, “Thousands of terrorists may be gathering in small groups in Orakzai, and in the Mohmand and Khyber agencies”. Referring to the possible threat, he said that the provincial government and the security forces were ready to take immediate action to thwart all such nefarious designs of the militants.

Iftikhar said that North Waziristan could be termed the “capital of terrorists” and Peshawar could face the wrath of the Taliban in response to the security forces’ operation in North Waziristan. He said the government had wiped out almost all terrorists from the province after the military operations in the Tribal Areas. However, some militants were still present in specific Tribal Areas.

The strategy of the KP government is to force the Taliban to come out of the Tribal Areas and then eliminate them once and for all, he said, according to the channel.