RAWALPINDI, Jan 4: An inter-provincial conference on law and order will be held in Karachi on Jan 11, an official source told Dawn on Friday. This will be the first conference after the formation of the Jamali government.

Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat will preside over the conference, which will be attended by chief secretaries, home secretaries and the inspectors general of police of all the provinces and the federal capital, the source said.

He said that the prevailing law and order situation in the country would be on the top of the conference agenda. The police chiefs are expected to present reports on crime situation and police performance in their respective areas to the interior minister.

The conference is likely to discuss the steps to control terrorism, strategies adopted by the law enforcement agencies to recover illicit weapons, police reforms and powers given to the police officers in the new act and improvement of conditions in jails, the source said.

The previous six inter-provincial conferences were held during the tenure of Moinuddin Haider. The last conference was held in Lahore on Feb 16, 2002.—Staff Reporter