The NWFP government has ordered the Malakand administration to stop Afghan nationals serving as prayers leaders in different districts of the division from continuing their activities.A special cabinet meeting on law and order last week decided that all mosques should have local residents as prayer leaders. "In each mosque, the imam should be a local resident and no Afghan national should be leading prayers at any mosque in the region," they added. At the same meeting, the NWFP government also decided to request extra security from the army for foreign nationals working as consultants on the Lowari Tunnel and a road connecting Chitral with the rest of the country.
Probe and confiscate: The cabinet meeting also directed the government to confiscate the property of any person found linked to the Taliban in Swat and Malakand Division, senior officials told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. The meeting decided that a committee comprising the home secretary, a senior member of the Board of Revenue and the finance secretary should examine the confiscation of such properties. "The government has vowed to show zero tolerance for people who have violated peace and challenged the writ of the state in Malakand," the officials said, adding there was unanimity during the meeting that the Taliban should pay for their heinous crimes. "In this context, the government has taken the decision to confiscate property owned by the Taliban," they said.