June 20, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 04, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 19: The government has evolved a new anti-terrorism strategy with special focus on containing militancy in the NWFP.

“The new strategy was finalised by President Gen Pervez Musharraf in the National Security Council meeting held on June 4,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema on Tuesday.

He told a weekly news briefing on law and order that the implementation of the three-pronged strategy had started and the problem of terrorism would be addressed administratively, politically and through enforcement of law.

“Under the strategy the strength of the Frontier Constabulary has been increased by 50 per cent for which young and energetic people have been inducted and they have been provided modern weapons,” he said.

He said the NSC meeting had also decided that the federal government would bear 50 per cent of the annual expenses of the FC.

He said that the NSC had taken a serious note of the increasing militancy and activities of Taliban in the NWFP’s settled areas and Fata and emphasised the need for strengthening security agencies to curb terrorism.

Giving details about high-profile terrorist acts in the country, he claimed to have identified the masterminds of 40 suicide attacks that had taken place in the country since 2002.

“We have so far detected 27, out of 40, suicide attacks. The remaining 13 cases which are still under investigation are interconnected with each other,” he said.

The spokesman said: “Let me assure you that we have a fair idea of the masterminds and they sooner or later will be brought to justice.”

He said that the rate of terrorism activities in Balochistan had declined in the current year.

Giving a comparison between terrorism incidents that took place last year and the current year in Balochistan, he said this year up to June 15, some 315 incidents occurred against 1,152 that had taken place last year.

KAFILA SIDDIQUI CASE: He said the chemical examiner’s report about the samples of Kafila Siddiqui’s stomach had not been received and servants of ex-minister of state for communication Shahid Jamil Qureshi were on physical remand.

The bail of the former minister has been extended till June 22.