09 March 2004	Tuesday	17 Muharram 1425

PESHAWAR, March 8: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said his government will not allow any individual or group to use the Frontier's soil for terrorist or other unlawful activities.

Speaking to newsmen here at his Assembly Chamber here on Monday, he said that his government was trying to resolve the issues through political means and bring the people on the negotiation table.

He said during his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, he had explained him (Musharraf) about the settlement of the foreign people, who had waged a long war against the former Soviet Union and its puppets, in the tribal belt. He said some of them had become part of tribal society after settlement and marriages in the area.

He said all of them were not involved in terrorist activities. "The tribesmen on their own understand what are the consequences of harbouring terrorists and criminals.

"They will not allow any group or individual to misuse their land," he added. He underlined the need for unified and integrated efforts for the development of the province and prosperity of the people.

He said the NWFP governor had assured him allout support for the development and rights of the province. To a question about the Hisba Act, he said the Shariat Council had also sought the opinion of legal experts from the Punjab and it had tried to remove reservations of certain other quarters.

"We have not yet received the final draft of the Act. When it will come to us, we will provide it to the political parties and seek their opinion too. Then it will be tabled in the House," he added.

Responding to a query, he said the government had taken a stern action against all those people involved in the attack on a mosque in Batagram. A case had been registered and the arrested men had been sent to jail, he added.