PESHAWAR Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik has said on Wednesday that currently no full-scale military operation is being conducted in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Talking to media persons at Frontier Scouts Cadet College Warsak, the Corps Commander said that there is no military operation in FATA as carried out in 2008 and 2009 against terrorists. To a question about the army conducting a military operation in North Waziristan Agency, the Corps Commander said only cordoned-off operations are being conducted in FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against terrorists. Inspector General (IG) Frontier Corps, Major General Nadir Zeb was also present on the occasion. He said that security forces were conducting search operations on the call of people and local administration to clear their areas of terrorists. He, however, said situation in FATA is now coming towards normalcy and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are returning home in the militancy-hit areas. About the Katlang operation, he said security forces conducted successful operation and arrested hardcore militants that had taken refuge in the area. Yasin Malik also said that 9000 IDPs had retuned to the Orakzai Agency and 11000 more would return next month, while the IDPs return process would be completed in April 2011. We (army) are taking part in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the people affected by militancy. They were being trained and assisted in various fields including agriculture and livestock modern techniques as to improve their living condition, he added. Answering a question a question, he said kidnapping for ransom is not a terrorist activity as it is law and order issue and comes under the domain of police and other security agencies. Earlier addressing a workshop on 'Farming and Advance Production Technology of Agriculture in FATA, Malik said that they will try to organise such workshops in all the agencies of FATA and there was a need for an interactive system to yield more positive results in this regard. He said that farmers in tribal areas that want to cultivate orchards would be provided with trees. Major Masood from Frontier Scouts Balahisar said that agriculture was one of the main sources of income in FATA and about 70 percent of the population is associated with agriculture. He said that the workshop on Agriculture Development in FATA was part of the effort to improve the lifestyle of the underprivileged of the region. Thirty-five middle level farmers from different agencies of FATA (Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurrum, Orakzai) and district Dir and Chitral participated in the workshop and were provided seeds and tools of farming on the occasion, besides sharing of modern techniques of farming to enhance the cultivation in the region for better yields in various crops including maize and rice. Farmers hailing from various tribal agencies and settled areas said that along with enhancement of awareness among farmers, they need proper water storage. They also had a demand for provision of fertilisers as they were currently banned in the tribal areas due to the fear of its usage in making explosive material. They said that in the absence of fertilisers, the fields were getting more barren and also demanded that the tractor scheme should be managed and distributed among the deserving farmers as against the distribution through lottery system which also results at times in awarding tractors to shopkeepers and government employees instead of the needy farmers. The farmers also said that there was also a need of rehabilitation of the fields after devastating floods in the region and said that the watercourses in the region were particularly affected and damaged. Government should help them in this regard, they maintained that currently they were constructing the destroyed watercourses for agricultural purposes on their own. Director General Outreach Agriculture Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bashir Ahmad said that there was sufficient potential for increasing yields of crops in FATA provided modern technology was applied. Farmers were taught various methodologies and technologies in the workshop as to how to develop seeds, he added, and said that through development of agriculture in FATA, there would be more opportunities of employment as well.