PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apex Committee on Thursday decided that all activities supporting militancy in the province would be countered.

The committee met here with caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan in the chair and discussed matters related to the KP Integrated Security Architecture (KPISA) in connection with the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office here.

Finance minister Ahmed Rasool Bangash, Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Hasan Azhar Hayat, chief secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and other officials attended the meeting.

The KPISA, the first of its kind in the country, is a “platform to synergise efforts of security apparatus, intelligence agencies and civil departments at provincial, divisional and district levels to combat terrorism and to counter the terrorist support system with special focus on illegal spectrum,” according to the statement.

It added that the apex committee decided that data of Afghan citizens living illegally in the province would be collected, while a crackdown would be launched on illegal mobile sim cards, explosive material, extortion, hawala-hundi forex trade, illegal arms, smuggling, forgery, smuggling of drugs and other illegal activities.

It also decided to act against social media accounts spreading hatred against the state and its institutions.

“Spreading hatred against state institutions on social media is intolerable. Effective actions should be taken against such elements,” Mr Khan said in the meeting.

The committee also decided that besides intelligence agencies, the federal and provincial departments would also take effective action against illegal activities, while government employees supporting illegal activities would be dealt with strictly.

It examined the issues related to registration of non-custom paid vehicles and religious seminaries.

The committee also decided to establish a special unit in the police’s counter-terrorism department to eradicate extortion.

Officials briefed participants on the performance of the provincial security secretariat in relation to the NAP’s implementation, according to the statement.

The participants stressed the need for strengthening cooperation between the committees established at district level and the provincial apex committee.

The committee decided to register arms manufacturing factories and carry out their audit to prevent illegal arms, according to the statement.

The chief minister expressed concern about the growing use of drugs in the province and said that the “new generation is being destroyed.”

He said that there was a need for cracking down on drug dealers, while a follow-up mechanism should be developed to ensure the implementation of the apex committee’s decisions.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2023