Zardari approves renaming of NWFP as Pukhtoonkhwa

[LahoreEstate]

By Asim Yasin

ISLAMABAD: The government would engage in dialogue with only those who do not challenge the writ of the government, said President Asif Ali Zardari here Thursday.

He made these remarks while presiding over a meeting on the NWFP situation. The president gave a green signal to renaming of NWFP as Pukhtoonkhwa, saying the constitutional requirements in this regard will be met. The change was reflected in the official press release from the presidency on the meeting as it mentioned NWFP as “Pukhtoonkhwa’.

Law Minister Farooq H Naek briefed the meeting about the draft of amendments to Nazam-e-Adl 1999 in PATA as suggested by the committee headed by him. The proposals have already been sent to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and would subsequently be sent to the NWFP governor and the provincial government for review.

Meanwhile, addressing the meeting the president said the government was pursuing three ‘Ds’ formula made up of dialogue, development and deterrence to root out the menace of extremism from the country.

The president said that the government was working on a massive socio-economic development programme with special reference to the Pukhtoonkhwa province and the tribal areas. He said the need for such a programme was increasingly being recognised by the international community and the Lugar-Biden Bill in the United States Senate was a manifestation of this realisation.

Earlier, the NWFP chief minister gave an overview of the law and order situation in the province in general and Swat and Malakand in particular. The president said that peace was the foremost priority and that was why the government has pressed into service all available resources to bring stability to the regions affected by extremism. The president said that he would like to have such meetings held more frequently.

Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik briefed the meeting on the measures taken to beef up the police force and security agencies in the province. The president directed the interior adviser to furnish a detailed report within a week on the measures taken to beef up the police force in the province and also on what further needed to be done.

Those who attended the meeting included Governor NWFP Owais Ahmed Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Federal Minister for Law & Justice Farooq H. Naek, Federal Minister for SAFRON Najmuddin Khan, Interior Adviser Rehman Malik, Attorney General Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa, Provincial Minister for Planning & Development Rahim Dad Khan, Provincial Minister for Finance Hamayun Khan, Provincial Minister for Health Zahir Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar, Provincial Minister for Law Barrister Arshad Abdullah, Provincial Minister for Local Government Bashir Ahmad Bilour and Afrasiab Khattak, peace envoy.

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