KOHAT, Dec 24 Elders of the Shia sect have requested the NWFP chief minister to hand over the security of Hangu to the army during Muharram.

They demanded deployment of regular army troops along the borders with the Orakzai Agency and some parts of the Kurram Agency.

A delegation of the elders led by the district Khateeb of Hangu, Allama Jawad Ahmed Jawadi, called on NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti recently and apprised him about their reservations over security arrangements being made in the Hangu district for Muharram.

Mr Jawadi told Dawn on Wednesday that they had requested the chief minister to order deployment of the army, Frontier Constabulary and the Frontier Corps in addition to police commandos keeping in view the alarming sectarian situation in Orakzai and Kurram agencies.

He expressed the fear that due to the presence of the Taliban in the region, an attack on Hangu by them during Muharram could not be ruled out. Foreign elements, he said, were also present in the region and they might take advantage of the tension between Shia and Sunni sects by carrying out terrorist attacks on Muharram processions.

He said the administration had not informed them of any security plan for the month.

Hangu District Police Officer Sajjad Khan told Dawn by telephone that the administration had passed on the request for deployment of army troops in the region through proper channel. He said they had requested for a large number of security forces and made a 'foolproof' plan for ensuring peace during Muharram, but it could not be disclosed as a precaution.

He said deployment of the army was a must in the region and without it security arrangements for Muharram could not be completed according to the satisfaction of the administration and the Shia sect.

He expressed the hope that the government would honour the request for deployment of the army in the region. The situation had deteriorated following recent sectarian clashes in Darra Adamkhel, Orakzai Agency and the Kurram Agency.—Correspondent