February 27, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 9, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The government on Monday devised a new strategy to strengthen the intelligence network of civil security forces to trace suicide bombers and avert their subversive plots.

This was decided in a high-level security meeting presided over by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, a participant of the meeting told Dawn.

The meeting decided that the civil security forces should not rely only on the intelligence of military departments. “They should mobilise their own intelligence network to counter rising suicide attacks.”

“Personnel of civil intelligence agencies should penetrate into suspected groups to get inside information about their plans,” the meeting suggested. In this connection decisions were made to enhance capacity-building of the Crime Investigation Department (CID).

In the recent spate of terrorism, six suicide attacks have taken place in different cities of the country, including Islamabad, in which over two dozens people have been killed.

Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director-General Tariq Pervez, National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) Director-General Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Khalid Pervez, home secretaries, inspector generals and senior security officials of the four provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Azad Jammu Kashmir and the Northern Areas also attended the meeting.

When contacted, the NCMC director-general said a new strategy had been chalked out to strengthen the intelligence network of civil forces but it could not be shared with the media at this stage.

The meeting reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly in the wake of recent suicide attacks.

The provincial police officers briefed the meeting about the progress made in investigations into recent suicide attacks. The interior minister directed the security agencies to complete the investigations so that networks involved in the suicide bombings could be traced.