20 November 2004	Saturday	07 Shawwal 1425

LAHORE, Nov 19: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairperson Tahir Muhammad Khan and secretary-general Hina Jilani have said the reports of resurgence in activities of banned extremist groups in the NWFP highlighted the lack of official commitment to eradicate violent trends and threats posed to citizens by terrorists.

Referring to the reports of a bomb blast in a Mingora cinema in which two people were killed and 29 injured, they said the HRCP had repeatedly asserted that the militancy could not be effectively tackled by merely arresting a handful of wanted terrorists while others continued to be trained.

The militants churned out over the years as a result of the policies abetted by the state also required to be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the mainstream of society.

They said the press reports that the banned Tehrik Nafaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi was behind several attacks in the Swat valley, including the killing of two officers of a sensitive agency in Batgram after an attack with rocket launchers on their office, provided a serious cause for concern. The more ominous still were the reports that the FM radio stations aggressively spreading pro-jihad messages had been set up at seminaries across the Malakand division.

The HRCP office-bearers were of the view that the authorities were willing to do little in concrete terms to tackle militancy. The cosmetic measures adopted and the statements made by the authorities so far had done nothing to prevent the resurgence of violent trends, most notably in the NWFP.

This presented an immense threat to citizens who had already suffered greatly as a consequence of terrorist activities over the past decades and now faced further threat due to the official unwillingness to tackle the problem in a meaningful manner.