TIMERGARA, Jan 24: The militants hiding in Afghanistan were supported by Afghan government and some other countries but Pakistan Army was capable to frustrate their designs, said Commandant Dir Scouts Col Mohammad Kamran Aslam.

Talking to local journalists at his office here on Thursday, he said that militants of Swat, Dir and Bajaur were hiding in the border areas of Afghanistan that posed threat to Pakistani security forces, government installations and common people.

However, he said that complete ban on transportation of timber from Afghanistan helped security forces to seal the Pak-Afghan border and stop infiltration of militants. The ban on transportation of timber also helped to decrease cross-border attacks, he added.

Col Aslam said that it was difficult for border security personnel to check dozens of trucks loaded with timber, coming from Afghanistan via Chitral district and Shahi area of Dir Lower district.

“We have banned strictly timber smuggling from Afghanistan and will never compromise on it owing to security reasons,” the official said. He added that security was tightened in the border areas after last year’s cross-border attacks by militants.

Col Aslam said that army was not planning to collect small arms from local people. He said that a jirga comprising local elders had reached the consensus to register all kinds of weapons with the security forces.

He said that they would not collect weapons like pistol, gun and Kalashnikov from people of Dir Lower. However, heavy arms would be collected from people as per the jirga’s decision, he said.

He appreciated holding of jirgas and ‘kuli kutcheri’ by civil administration in parts of the district and said that it was collective responsibility of security forces, police, district administration and local people to maintain peace in the region.

Col Aslam said that gunfire was banned completely in the district. “People should resolve their disputes on their own. They can quarrel with sticks and stones if it is necessary. We will not allow them to take arms against each other,” he said.

He said that people of the district should cooperate with security forces in maintaining law and order and discipline in the society. In a disciplined society it became easy to identify outlaws and bad guys, the official added.