MINGORA: Malakand Division Commissioner Zaheer ul Islam and DIG Akhtar Hayat Khan on Wednesday said that number of security checkposts in Swat had been decreased to only six and the process of handing over the administrative responsibilities from military to civil administration in the division would be complete soon.

They were speaking at a news conference at the Swat Press Club here about the overall security, peace and development situation in Malakand.

“Peace has prevailed in Swat because of the joint efforts and sacrifices of army, police and local people.

Luckily, tourism industry has been revived and every year thousands of tourists from across the country visit Swat,” said commissioner Zaheer ul Islam, adding that the district administration had set a target of attracting 2.5 million tourists to the valley this year.

DIG Akhtar Hayat said that the number of security checkposts had been decreased to six from 60 in Swat which attested to the better security situation in the region. “Gradually the remaining checkposts will be handed over to the police,” he said, adding that the security operators would treat general public politely and that it was the responsibility of people to cooperate with the police in maintaining peace.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2018