09 October 2004	Saturday	23 Shaban 1425

LAHORE, Oct 8: As many as 4,500 policemen have been deployed at places of worship in the city in the wake of Multan carnage. City Police Chief DIG Tariq Salim said on Friday that all divisional SPs had been directed to ensure effective patrol in the areas under their jurisdiction.

He also ordered removal of parking stands near places of worship and maintain a strict vigil. Earlier, the DIG said at a meeting of ulema of different schools of thought that terrorists had no religious bonds and were enemies of Islam and Pakistan.

He urged them to promote harmony, tolerance and brotherhood besides helping police in tracing the felons. He sought their help in checking misuse of loudspeakers. He said police in consultation with ulema would try to improve security in the city.

Peace committee chairman Ibrahim Sialvi said ulema would extend maximum cooperation to the government for uprooting terrorism and respect to each other's beliefs. He said the members of committee had started visiting sensitive places of worship of both sects.

The meeting offered dua for the victims of Sialkot and Multan blasts. SSP (operation) Aftab Cheema, Pir Usman Noori, Haider Ali Mirza, Ali Muhammad Khwaja, Syed Shakir Ali, Maulana Waheedullah, Javed Akbar and Maulana Bashir Salfi were present in the meeting.

PERVAIZ ELAHI: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi claimed on Friday that changing thana culture was the main priority of his government. Talking to student Anzar Khalid and his family, who had been illegally detained by police recently, the chief minister said the guilty would be dealt with an iron fist. He directed the Saddar division SP to submit a report within a week.

Meanwhile, presiding over a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, he ordered initiation of a programme for the rehabilitation of the deprived children and check on child beggary.

He said under the new legislation, shelter less child beggars would be provided education, professional training, food and accommodation so that they could become useful citizens. He stressed that the target be kept in view while implementing the programme because the government wanted to eradicate the menace of child begging from the province.

He directed the administration that the mafia involved in the menace should be dealt with sternly. He urged the bureau to take practical steps for the protection of child rights and set positive trends for the NGOs working in the sector.

Dr Faiza Asghar, advisor to the CM, told the meeting that the Lahore High Court had given approval for setting up child protection courts. Dr Faiza, who is also chief of the bureau, said a comprehensive plan had been evolved to deal with child beggary and other problems in the province.