February 11, 2003	Tuesday	Zul Hijjah 9, 1423

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PESHAWAR, Feb 10: The NWFP government on Monday warned of using force to destroy poppy in tribal areas and said it might as well proceed against the cleric who had issued a decree justifying the cultivation of the banned crop.

“We are encouraging the tribal people to destroy poppy and we will not shirk using force if we have to in order to eliminate the crop,” Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Brig Mahmood Shah told a news briefing.

He acknowledged that certain areas, where poppy cultivation had been brought down to zero, had reverted to growing poppy in violation of a ban on the crop.

He, however, denied that the ascension of a religious alliance to power in the province was one of the factors behind poppy cultivation. “This impression is not true. The government is against poppy. There are economic reasons behind it,” he insisted.

Referring to the religious decree issued by a cleric in South Waziristan justifying the poppy cultivation, he said: “This decree has been issued by an individual and not by any religious institution. We may go for his prosecution.

FBI RAIDS: Asked whether the provincial government could stop any foreign or federal agency authorized by the Centre to hunt Al Qaeda elements, Brig Mahmood said any such request would have to come to him and he, in turn, would seek the approval of either the governor or the chief minister depending on whether the area of operation was a tribal or a provincial area. “So far, I have no knowledge of any FBI operation.”

He attributed occurrences of airspace violation by American bombers on the Pakistan side of tribal areas to poor navigation. Intrusion of between 50 and 100 meters was permissible, he added.

LAW & ORDER: The secretary maintained that the law and order situation was not bad if compared with other provinces. He said operations had been mounted in Frontier Regions, Bannu and its surrounding areas to flush out car lifters and kidnappers.

He said the government had taken many preventive measures to control crime. He claimed that the areas and groups involved in crime had been identified and action was being taken against them. In certain areas, he said, houses of criminals had been demolished or occupied by the law enforcement agencies.

In Peshawar too, he said, measures were being taken to control kidnappings for ransom. The measures included setting up of checkpoints on Ring Road. He pointed out that one of the six ringleaders of kidnappers had been arrested while action had been taken against others still at large. He was confident that those still not held would be arrested soon.

CHECKPOINTS: The secretary said directives had been issued to the law enforcement agencies to abolish checkpoints on the Peshawar-Pindi Grand Trunk Road. Instead, he pointed out, a combined checkpoint of all the law enforcement agencies was being set up at a short distance from the Toll Plaza to save passengers from frequent checking. He said the Punjab government had also been approached to do away with frequent checking on the road and had been requested to set up a combined checkpoint at Margalla between Attock and Rawalpindi. “Punjab’s response has been positive,” he added.

He said the provincial government had also approached the federal government for funds to equip the combined checkpoint at Attock with certain facilities.