PESHAWAR, Jan 22: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that the government is devising a policy in close consultation with Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah to combat criminals in the tribal areas.

Talking to a group of media representatives, intellectuals and writers at the Frontier House here on Wednesday, the chief minister said that no terrorist had been arrested from the NWFP as against other provinces where quite a few suspects were held by the law enforcement agencies, said a handout.

But the people of the NWFP, who remained victims of terrorism for a long time, were being defamed internationally for no reason, he lamented.

Durrani reiterated that no terrorists would be allowed to use Pakistan’s soil for their nefarious designs, saying that the people of tribal agencies were more eager to extend cooperation to the government to eliminate crimes from their areas. However, he assured that any terrorist arrested in the NWFP would be dealt with according to the law of the land.

He further said that the government would not impose its policies and viewpoints on the people, but would make endeavours to convince them through dialogue and action.

The chief minister said efforts were being made to establish a society based on justice and fair play and eliminate obscenity. The maintenance of law and order, setting the economy on a sound footing, provision of relief to the common man and elimination of unemployment, poverty and social evils were among the top priorities of the MMA government and part of its manifesto, he added.

The law and order situation, which was very bad before the MMA government, had improved considerably, Durrani said, adding that there had been a significant decline in the number of cases of kidnapping, car-lifting and other crimes.

He said his government had tightened the noose around criminals and steps were being taken to dismantle sanctuaries of anti-social elements in the tribal areas.

Regarding the enforcement of Shariat, the chief minister said the MMA leadership was fully seized with the matter and was making efforts to introduce the final report of the recommendations of Islamic Ideology Council in the National Assembly.