PESHAWAR, July 10: A high-level meeting reviewed the law and order situation in the North Waziristan and Khyber agencies and certain districts of the NWFP adjoining the Federally-Administered Tribal Area (Fata) here on Monday.

A handout quoted Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai as saying that ceasefire was the first major step towards restoration of permanent peace in the North Waziristan Agency. The meeting was presided over by the governor of the NWFP, it said.

The meeting was attended by heads and representatives of various law enforcemnt agencies and provincial Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi.

The coordination conference, second such in a row, was aimed at identifying bottlenecks and coordinate efforts between the Governor’s Secretariat, the law-enforcement agencies and civilian administration.

Referring to the Waziristan issue, Governor Orakzai stressed the need for politically addressing the issue through a dialogue process.

He said that negotiation and peaceful settlement would continue to be the first and foremost option.