Federal coalition leaders warn NWFP may soon break away from Pak

Islamabad, July 25 : At a meeting of federal coalition partners here yesterday, deep concerns were expressed at the worsening condition in NWFP by each passing day, and it was pointed out that the day was not too far when the province would fall in the hands of extremists and break away from Pakistan.

The coalition leaders said that the condition was deteriorating because of Islamabad's 'blind following' of Washington's war on terror.

"While JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman cautioned the country's top leadership that Pakistan was in the process of losing the Frontier province, the ANP-led NWFP government too admitted that the local Taliban had extended their influence to most parts of the settled districts, including even those surrounding the provincial capital," The News quoted one of the participants of the meeting.

According to him, the worried JUI-F leader said - 'I am telling you that the Frontier province is breaking away from Pakistan'.

He added that he did not understand the rationale for putting the integrity of our own country at risk just to please the US.

A presentation given by the Frontier government on the situation in the province, too, was quite disturbing for those who attended the meeting.

According to the source, the NWFP government conceded that the influence of the Taliban had "grown tremendously" and extended to many parts of the settled districts of the province. The meeting was told that the local Taliban, i.e. TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) had now the capacity to create trouble in the districts of Charsadda, Mardan and Hangu, which surround Peshawar, the provincial capital.

The leaders admitted that in the south and north of Peshawar, the militants' presence was felt, thus, creating alarms for the authorities.

According to the paper, the PML-N representatives, led by Mian Shahbaz Sharif too expressed their complete dissatisfaction over the ongoing policy on the war on terror and urged that there was a dire need for making a national policy to meet the growing threat of extremism and terrorism.

The meeting was told that President Musharraf's eight-year policy to deal with such issues with the barrel of gun had put Pakistan's future at stake.

ANI