A news item in a section of press said that over 12,000 candidates had applied for the vacancies in Police Department of Malakand. I consider this to be really positive news. It shows that law and order situation is under control and the government machinery working smoothly. Compare that with the earlier situation when all the government officials had fled because of the threat caused by miscreants. The remaining officials had put up their resignations to save their lives. Now the Pakistan Army has ruthlessly eradicated the miscreants and broke their network. Many of their leaders have been killed or apprehended and the people who were displaced due to the military operation are coming back. The writ of the government has been established. People are seen busy in shopping or moving around for doing their routine work. -YOUSAF ALAMGIRIAN, Rawalpindi, via e-mail, August 6.