July 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rajab 18, 1429

PESHAWAR, July 21: NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said on Monday that despite various challenges, the government would not follow the dictates of anybody and continue its efforts for peace in the province.

Briefing the media after a meeting of the provincial cabinet, he said the cabinet had discussed the worsening law and order situation and endorsed the peace initiative in Swat.

He said it was difficult to restore peace in violence-hit areas in a short time, but the government was using all available options to achieve the objective.

He said the first option was to solve the problem through negotiations and jirgas, a historical mechanism used by the Pakhtuns to settle their disputes.

The other option, he said, was to launch a massive development programme in the affected areas and get the people involved in the process and in the event of failure, to use force as the last resort to protect the life and property of the people.

He said the government would use force only under compulsions.

“We are opposed to the use of force. We believe in peaceful methods to resolve issues. But if someone challenges the authority of the government force will have to be used to establish the government’s writ.”

The minister said the government and the militants in Swat were abiding by the agreement reached on May 21, but some ‘hidden hands’ were trying to sabotage it.

The coalition government, he said, released 19 of the 60 detained persons immediately after signing the agreement.

“We had made it clear to the militants’ representatives on May 21 that the remaining militants would be released after vetting their cases,” the minister said.The militants, he said, wanted immediate enactment of the ‘Adl Regulation’, but it needed time.

The minister said the militants were pressurising the government to withdraw army troops from Swat, without realising that it was not a simple matter. He said the troops would return gradually to their barracks.

About the five-day deadline given by Baitullah Mehsud, he said people had given a five-year mandate to the government.

“We will go to the people who are our constituents and who have given us mandate to run the province,” he said.