PESHAWAR, Feb 4: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao has said that he is not aware of any headquarters of Al Qaeda in the Malakand region of the NWFP. He was talking to media persons after the inauguration of an exhibition “Quranic verses calligraphed by Hazrat Ali (RA) Ibn Abu Talib” here at Iranian Cultural Centre on Saturday.

“We have no knowledge about it. The US media, which reported it, should share the information with the Pakistani government, if it has any,” Mr Sherpao said, while replying to a question about the foreign media reports about the Al Qaeda headquarters in Malakand region.

Special security arrangements had been made for the safety of Imambargahs and Muharram processions, he said, adding that the interior ministry had also set up emergency centres.

About the railway accidents, he said: “The police stations concerned have been directed to ensure security of railway lines,” he added.

The causes of derailment on the Rohri-Khanpur track was not known as a detailed report about the railway accident was yet to be compiled, said the minister.

Mr Sherpao condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures by a Danish newspaper and their reproduction by some other newspapers of Norway and other European countries.

Iranian Cultural Centre director-general Masood Islami, while speaking at the launching ceremony of the collection of manuscripts of Quranic verses after the exhibition, said that reproduction of the verses calligraphed by Hazrat Ali (RA) by the Imprint Publishing was a commendable job.

He stressed the need to follow the teachings of the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him).

Mr Islami said that Muslims were facing enemies of Islam and whatever had been done against the Holy Prophet was condemnable. The resentment and anger in the Islamic world against the blasphemous caricatures in the foreign media showed that the Muslim world was very sensitive about Islam, he added.