President promulgates FATA/PATA regulations to fight anti-Pakistan terrorist elements

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, on the advise of the PM Gillani and approval by the federal govt, has promulgated the Regulations “Action in Aid of Civil Powers - 2011” for FATA and PATA to carry out operation in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) against terrorists who have imposed a war on the state of Pakistan, it is officially stated here on Thursday. An official of the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRAN) said that Pakistan has been facing a severe challenge from terrorists and extremists on its north western borders where hundreds of civilians and law enforcement agencies’ personnels have embraced 'shahadat'. These militants are bent upon the destruction of our schools, hospitals and mosques and they employ all means to erode the writ of the government. With a view to meet the challenges of such an extraordinary situation, these regulations have been enacted to counter these groups. The official said that regulations will provide a legal framework for the armed forces that have been called upon by the federal government to conduct operations in KP against the terrorists who are waging war against the state, attacking its infrastructure by raising unlawful private armies and trying to assert unlawful control over the territories of the state. The regulations permit incapacitating of the terrorists by interning them only during the duration of the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power’ operation and thereafter they shall be handed over by the security forces to the concerned law enforcement agency for bringing them to justice, he added.