PESHAWAR - Speakers at a seminar titled ‘Engaging Stakeholders of Peace’ on Wednesday urged the need for proper legislation to stop the growing use of ammonium nitrate and use of fertilisers in subversive activities.
The programme was aimed to sensitize the masses about the possible wrong use of fertilizers and especially nitrate in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts across the country.
It was also aimed to discourage the sale and purchase of fertilisers and other products, having dangerous chemical components, for destructive activities, but keeping in view the negative affects of banning fertilisers to agriculturalists and small producers across the country.
The seminar was organized by a non-governmental organization (NGO) Awareness Movement for an Alert Nation (AMAN) in collaboration with Zindagi Bachao Farz Nabhao ‘Save life perform duty’ working for peace, here on Wednesday at a local hotel.
Besides others, representatives from fertiliser companies, dealers, agriculturalists, academia and a large number of students from the Agriculture University, Peshawar, civil society members and small farmers from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjacent Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) took part in the moot.
The panelists Col (Red) Akhtar Ahmed and Col (Red) Muhammad Shamim, while speaking on the occasion, said that IEDs were explosives prepared on unconventional methods and being used in ways other than in conventional military actions.
Pakistan is also among those countries where the use of IEDs in terrorist activities has been increased manifold since 2007, they added.
According to data available, about 11,000 Pakistanis were lost their lives and over 21,000 were injured in the past one decade in terrorist activities, they informed.
On this occasion, Programme Coordinator Sara Khan, Natasha Gillani, Shaukat Ali Ashraf, and Shamaila highlighted the possible use of fertilizers. The shared their views and experiences about the technical dimension of terrorism, the enigma of IEDs and how to combat the menace, including the technical dimensions, counter pilferage measures.
After detailed presentation, the participants also gave their suggestions that how to deal with the growing use of fertilisers and nitrate in the growing terrorists and subversive activities.
The chemical scientists and fertiliser experts should conduct through research to change the formula from nitrate to other chemical component to reduce the potential threat in explosives, they added.
They also asked the government to devise a comprehensive strategy to stop the possible use of nitrate and fertilizers in detonations.
They said keeping in view the production and distribution process, in which the fertiliser companies and dealers should be made bound to keep track on the fertiliser being supplied to market.