June 25, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1427

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RAWALPINDI, June 24: The federal government has directed the NWFP authorities to take strict action against those people who are selling blasphemous CDs and confiscate such objectionable material, sources said on Wednesday.

The directives were given at a meeting held recently in Islamabad to review law and order situation in tribal areas with special focus on North Waziristan and Khyber Agency.

The sources said that the NWFP government was asked to check the sale of blasphemous CDs about Hazrat Yousaf (AS), Zulekha and Hazrat Younis (AS) and arrest those involved in business and confiscate the objectionable material.

The sources said that the CDs were dubbed in Persian and reportedly being sold in Peshawar.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, when contacted, said: “I can’t say anything because it is a sensitive issue.”

Asked whether any blasphemous CDs have been confiscated, he said: “I can not say anything about the ‘outcome’.”

Concern was shown by the federal government over the Talibanisation of Fata and law and order situation in the tribal areas.

The meeting was told that recently government buildings were taken over by miscreants and convoys of law-enforcement agencies were ambushed.

The participants of the meeting were informed that the gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that 120 pro-government people have been killed in North and South Waziristan agencies in recent time.

It was observed that the root-cause of the problems in tribal areas and emergence of Taliban were lack of good governance.

The sources said that suggestion about setting up of additional checkpoints of Frontier Constabulary on the border of South Waziristan Agency and Tank also came under discussion.

Liaison between intelligence agencies and political administration was also stressed.

The meeting observed that the political administration should assume the proactive role and administrators should lead the action against militants.