PESHAWAR, Dec 23: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has ordered constitution of a joint inquiry committee to probe fleeing of Arab prisoners from custody when being transported to Kohat for interrogation.

These prisoners, who were reported to have fled US airstrikes on the Tora Bora hideout of Osama bin Laden in eastern Afghanistan to the Pakistan tribal territory, were captured by the Pakistani law enforcement agencies last week.

Most of the escapees, believed to be members of Al Qaeda network, have been recaptured, while manhunt is on to catch the remaining five still at large.

Addressing a high-level meeting to review the law and order situation in the province and adjoining tribal belt, the governor tasked the joint inquiry committee to fix responsibility for the ugly incident, an official statement issued on Sunday said.

The officials of law enforcement agencies, who were found guilty of showing any laxity, indifference or callousness, would be punished severely so that the personnel could be vigilant to their duties in future, it added.

The governor regretted that the indifference and lethargy of the officials, deputed to accomplish the task of transportation of the prisoners, damaged Pakistan’s image badly. He said that there should be no lapses in the security of prisoners in future.

He called upon the law enforcement agencies to further reinforce coordination for timely and efficient intelligence gathering mechanism which would spur a prompt and shrewd decision-making at any critical situation.

He said that force utilization was a crucial thing which should be carried out with meticulous care and within the needs and requirements of a given area. He also directed reinforcing of border surveillance so that no one fleeing from Afghanistan could cross the border.

Iftikhar said that the government was considering establishing a health facility exclusively for the Afghan refugees to ease out the burden on the tertiary health care.

The governor also directed the home department to involve the tribal elders in the maintenance of law and order situation in the tribal areas. The concept of collective responsibility should be enforced to keep things under control in tribal areas, he added.

He said that the Afghan refugees intending to go back to their homeland should be facilitated and the tribal elders must prove their effectiveness in the prevailing situation.

The governor also expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of Afghan Commissionerate, saying that there should be closer coordination between the UNHCR and the commissionerate to accommodate the Afghans who have been crossing over to Pakistan after Sept 11. The plan for the repatriation of Afghan refugees was being prepared and hopefully the process would take off sometime during the month of March. However, during the intervening period, the new arrivals should be shifted to the newly-established camps.

The meeting was informed that seven refugee camps had been established and three more were being set up.