PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has admitted that extortion has become the most serious issue beingfaced by the province after terrorism.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department, in a written reply to a question of Jamiat Ulema-iIslam lawmaker Mufti Fazl Ghafoor and submitted to the provincial assembly on Friday, said that the cases of extortion started after terrorism reared its head in the last decade. `It is linked to thepresence of terrorists in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and across the border,` it notes.

Blaming previous governments for not paying attention to this problem, the department also questioned the veracity of the available figures about the issue.

`Extortion figures for the years 2010-13 do notfully represent the extent and intensity of this crime during this period,` it notes, adding that the issue exacerbated with the passage of time.

Figures contained in the reply show a gradual increase in the number of extortion cases beginning with 2010. There were a total of 10 extortion incidents in 2010, which rose to 12 in 2011, 21 in 2012 and 56 in 2013. However, till October 2014, the figure jumped to 285 during first nine months of the year.

Monthly breakup of nine months of 2014 shows that there were 17 extortion incidents reported in January, 21 inFebruary, 27 in March, 42 in April, 48 in May, 30 in June, 37 in July, 33 in August and 30 in September.

The documents say that most of the extortion-related calls were made from landline numbers of tribal areas, Afghan SIMs and other un-registered SIMS, whose position was traced to Fata. It said that it was imperative to block Afghan and un-registered SIMS and terrorist centres in the tribal areas.

It notes that as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Fata fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, the KP police department has asked the centre to set up a joint taskforce to controlthe incidents of extortion. However, it says that the centre is yet to respond to this request.

It says that despite the unavailability of GSM locators, lack of direct access to mobile data and other phone details, constant use of unregistered and Afghan SIMSand other related problems, the provincial police department has set up a cellularforensic cell and counter terrorism department, which has been provided with intelligence analysis software.

`These steps have led to solution of154 extortion cases during the current year,` it notes, adding that 287 extortionists were arrested and five killed in police encounters.

A letter written by the KP police chief to the federal secretary interior in 2014 was also presented before the house. The letter notes that terrorist organisations are carrying out this crime from their hideouts in tribal areas and from across the border in Afghanistan. It says that banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Mohmand (TTM) was the most active among these militant outfits.

It said that TTM was headquartered in the Afghan city of Jalalabad and it had set up its extortion collection points in Parachao, Rena and Deka Lalpuraareas of Nangarhar at about seven to eight kilometers from the Torkham border.

`This group is collecting billions of rupees in extortion every month and the amount so collected is used to finance militant operations in both the settled areas as well Fata,` it said.

It notes that TTM has established close links with several other banned outfits and is capable of carrying out terrorist activities throughout Pakistan. It said that operators of this group were also making calls through Afghan cellular network from Afghanistan.

The letter suggested that a task force should be set up for ef fective border management system with strict regulations of cross-border movement, blocking of Afghan SIMs, curtailment of Pakistan`s cellular networks signals within Pakistani borders, interception and arrest of callers involved in this crime and banning of capital movement through hundi/hawala.