PESHAWAR, Nov 17: Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said the government will not allow outsiders to use the country’s territory to fulfil their agenda.
Those people, who harbour or provide shelter to such elements should be proceeded against under the FCR clause of collective responsibility in the tribal areas, said the governor while presiding over a meeting held here to review the law and order situation and related matters in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Home Secretary Abdul Karim Qasooria, Inspector General of the Frontier Corps Maj-Gen Hamed Khan, Secretary to Governor Sahibzada Saeed Ahmad, Fata Secretary (security) Brig Mehmood Shah, besides the political agents and respective DCOs.
The meeting discussed the border security arrangements, anti- smuggling drive, incidents of kidnapping for ransom and action against the criminals and unwanted people hiding in the tribal areas.
He said that in the changed scenario, the dimensions of law and order had also changed and “we would have to address the real issues with focused approach to overcome the problems and difficulties”.
The governor said that territorial integrity, national security and the country’s prestige were above all other considerations and “we will have to give priority to these prime objectives”.
He asked the political authorities and the law enforcement agencies to equally focus on anti-smuggling measures, which, he added, was going on unabated in certain areas.
“Something very positive has to be done to stop the smuggling,” he stressed and added: “We must identify the problems, the root causes and the loopholes before devising strategies to combat them.”
Regarding the measures to curb poppy cultivation in Fata, the meeting was informed that monitoring was going on to launch anti- poppy drive. The governor urged the officials to be more active in this regard.
On a point, the governor stressed that operation against criminals and anti-social elements in certain pockets of Fata should be targeted to achieve the desired results.
#FATA’s ADP:# The governor expressed satisfaction over the pace of work on construction of roads in Fata, particularly in the areas along the border, and said that all the roads should also be inter-linked to facilitate communication in different parts of Fata.
He was presiding over a meeting, which reviewed the quarterly progress of implementation of the Fata Annual Development Programme, held here on Monday.
The governor urged the authorities to keep the pace of work according to the already fixed milestone.
Regarding inadequate funding for certain development projects, the governor said that under the new mechanism the planning cells at every agency headquarters would be responsible to prepare their own ADP, which would help overcome the problems to a great extent.