November 15, 2003	Saturday	Ramazan 19, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 14: Interior Minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat said here on Friday that with the help of US security agencies the government had finalized a new strategy to deal with terrorists.

“Pakistan has been provided additional financial assistance and required intelligence and surveillance equipment by the Bush Administration and some other western countries to hunt the remaining members of Al Qaeda and Taliban,” he added.

Talking to Dawn, he said the government had received reports that Al Qaeda, Taliban and other similar extremist outfits were regrouping to carry out terrorist activities across Pakistan.

He said increasing terrorist activities would have to be effectively checked by the government for which provinces were also being brought on board. “What is happening in Saudi Arabia is also a matter of concern for us and we will have to keep an eye on the activities of Al Qaeda, Taliban and other foreign agencies including the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India,” Mr Hayat said.

The sectarian violence, the interior minister said, had resurfaced after about 6-7 months. He said violence started from Quetta and spread into various places, including Karachi and Islamabad, with Maulana Azim Tariq MNA as its latest victim. He said the government was encouraging a Shia-Sunni dialogue after Eid so that sectarian harmony could be promoted.

Responding to a question, he said security arrangements had been finalized for the forthcoming Saarc summit and other international events scheduled to held in Islamabad next year. The minister was of the view that fresh security measures were urgently required for which hi-tech gadgets had also been imported from the United States and other western countries.

The government, he said, had also decided to introduce and implement a “unified syllabus” for the students of all the religious sects in the country after its approval by the federal cabinet next month.

“We have formulated a policy to introduce this unified syllabus, specially for Shia and Sunni sects, though its implementation will be an extremely difficult task,” he added.

The interior minister said as a first step the new syllabus would be implemented by the provincial governments and directions had been issued to them to start consulting religious leaders of both the sects to avoid any complications at a later stage.

He said the government had also decided to restrict the mushroom growth of Madressahs whose number had now risen to over 9,000 throughout the country. The minister said the government wanted to regulate activities of religious schools and would close those institutions which were involved in promoting militancy among their students.