PESHAWAR, Nov 5: Caretaker Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk has ordered the review of the security plan for Swat and other sensitive areas in the NWFP. He has said weaknesses in the plan should be immediately removed.

He was presiding over a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the province, held at the Frontier House here on Monday. Home Minister Shahzada Gastasip, NWFP Chief Secretary Sahibzada Riaz Noor, IGP Sharif Virk, Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir and heads of law-enforcement agencies attended the meeting.

The meeting debated at length the law and order situation in the sensitive parts of the province and took a number of decisions to provide security to the people.

It discussed the role and responsibilities of the law-enforcement agencies. It also focused on the situation in the tribal belt which might have a direct bearing on the situation in the settled areas.

The participants were also briefed on the law and order situation, kidnapping for ransom, car snatching, criminal activities, the job description of various law-enforcement agencies and their role to control crimes.

The chief minister, in his remarks to the participants of the meeting, said there should be coordination among various law-enforcement agencies. The intelligence-gathering mechanism should be on sophisticated and modern lines.

There should be visible patrolling, he added. He ordered restoration of peace and writ of the government in all of the sensitive areas.

At a separate meeting, Mr Mulk pledged to take on board all the stakeholders for establishing durable peace in the sensitive areas. He said the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation would be implemented in the light of a report that was likely to be submitted to the authorities shortly.

He, however, said some confidence-building measures were needed so that the government functionaries could perform their duties with a degree of self-confidence in the affected areas.

He was talking to a delegation of Ulema from Swat who called on him at the Frontier House in the evening.

Provincial Minister Bakht Baidar and Tehsil Nazim Fazle Rehman were present on the occasion.

“The government is giving a word to Ulema that if they supplemented the efforts of the government for restoring peace to Swat and providing safety and security to lives and property to the people of the area, its direct beneficiaries will be all stakeholders,” the chief minister said.

He said the government would back all stakeholders of Swat wishing peace in the area. “It is the responsibility of the government to keep roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and other centres of civil service open,” the chief minister said.

He said that it was encouraging to see that the Ulema and civil society representatives were vociferous in condemning the slicing off of heads of innocent people.

He said the current situation in Swat demanded consultation with all stakeholders.