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| India-Pakistan |
| No information on Sufi's release: Iftikhar |
| 2009-07-09 |
| [The News (Pak) Top Stories] Asking the media not to glorify militant leaders, NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Tuesday said the provincial government did not know about the arrest or release of Maulana Sufi Muhammad. The minister while briefing media persons here said that phase-wise repatriation of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Malakand Division would be formally announced shortly as almost all basic facilities had been restored in the areas 'cleared from the militants' in Swat, Buner and Lower Dir districts. He said the final decision about the return of the IDPs would be taken in consultation with federal and provincial governments, contradicting the statement of Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Najmuddin Khan, who had claimed the same day that IDPs from Kalam, Bahrain and Madain in Swat would return their homes via Shangla. Mian Iftikhar also briefed the journalists on NWFP Chief MinisterÃs Ameer Haider Khan Hoti's visit to Buner, Dir and Swat the other day where civil and military officials briefed him on the latest situation in Malakand. Mian Iftikhar said that the NWFP government had released about Rs820 million for the displaced persons while 66,326 cash cards of Rs25,000 each have also been distributed among the IDPs in Nowshera and Swabi districts. |
| Posted by:Fred |