21 February 2004	Saturday	29 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Feb 20: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani has said the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has taken measures to maintain peace in the province and refused to give in to the pressure of outlaws.

As a result, he said, the practice of travelling in convoys had come to an end, and people felt secure when driving in areas that fell under the provincial government's jurisdiction.

He referred to the incident of Punjab Culture Minister Naeem Shahani's abduction and said he was got released safe and sound from his captors after a 22-day ordeal "without any payment of ransom or striking a deal with the criminals".

This became possible only after pressure was mounted on the tribe concerned, he said. The chief minister said that he made it clear to the tribal elders that if their men did not see reason he would not hesitate in using all the force at his command for the recovery of the minister.

According to sources, the chief minister had summoned the tribal elders to his village in Bannu and refused to get impressed when they feigned ignorance. This pressure worked and the kidnappers left an old woman at the house where Mr Shahani was kept, directing her to open the lock in the morning and let the kidnapped man go.

After coming out of the house, the minister was taken by an SP to the NWFP chief minister's residence in Bannu where he stayed for two days and pinpointed the five persons involved in his kidnapping.

When asked about the fate of the kidnappers, the chief minister said that a notice had been served on the tribe concerned to pay Rs5 million as fine for violating an agreement with the government which bars all tribes from providing refuge to criminals.

Apart from recovering the fine, he said, action would also be taken against the five persons involved, which would include demolition of their houses.