July 22, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 25, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 21: The federal interior ministry has called a meeting on Monday to chalk out a strategy for handling the growing Talibanisation and extremism in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata).

The meeting will be presided over by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and will focus on the intensifying activities of the Lashkar-i-Islami in the Khyber Agency and Tehrik Nafaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) in Malakand and Swat regions, sources told Dawn here on Friday.

Secretary Interior Sayed Kamal Shah, Secretary Fata Secretariat Arbab Shehzad, home secretaries and inspectors general of the four provinces will attend the meeting to be held on the 24th of July in Islamabad.

These sources said that activities of religious and sectarian organisations and small groups in the other three provinces would also be discussed.

They said that the government might consider banning the activities of Lashkar-i-Islami and the TNSM and punishment and fine for local supporters of these two religious groups.

They will also discuss the increasing activities of Absar-ul-Islam and Pir Saif-ur-Rehman’s group in the Khyber Agency.

The deteriorating law and order situation in the country, particularly in Karachi and Balochistan, will also be discussed.