Taliban may regroup, says NWFP chief minister

Peshawar, June 30 (ANI): The Chief Minister of Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province, Amir Haider Hoti, has said that the Taliban has not been eliminated from Swat and warned that they may try to re-group in the future.

"We have taken a resolve of complete elimination of militants from society because they are the enemy of people and nation and have committed inhuman crime which is not tolerable in any society," The Nation quoted Hoti, as saying.

He acknowledged that the weak civil administration in the Malakand division allowed the Taliban to reorganize in the region.

The government has decided to set up more police stations in Malakand besides recruiting ex-armymen as Special Security Force, he added.

Hoti assured that the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Malakand division would start very soon and repatriation would occur in a phased manner.

Addressing a ceremony held in connection with the distribution of cheques of 30,000 each among 227 displaced journalists of the Malakand division, Hoti said the government is concentrating on strengthening infrastructure before the return of IDPs.

He said return and rehabilitation of displaced persons is a hard task for the government as compared to providing them relief.

In order to revamp the damaged infrastructure of the Malakand division, the governemnt requires about two billion dollars, he added.

Hoti said his government would ensure the complete implementation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulations (Sharia law) in letter and spirit. (ANI)