NOWSHERA, Nov 30: NWFP caretaker Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk said on Friday that the government would solve the problem of wheat flour shortage in the province on a permanent basis.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the newly-constructed building of Nowshera Press Club, he said he would take up the issue with the Punjab chief minister at a meeting convened by President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad on Saturday to discuss the flour crisis and elections.

He said the Punjab government had imposed a ban on the wheat supply quota to the Frontier province which led to an increase in prices of flour. He said the president had taken a serious notice of the flour crisis in the NWFP.

Mr Mulk said the Frontier province had suffered badly in the war on terror. “The province needs to be supported and compensated for its role in combating militants.”

He said that the law and order situation in the province was not satisfactory. People demanded peace, instead of development projects, he said, adding that the government would restore peace and establish its writ in the province.

The CM said he had convened jirgas to find a peaceful solution to the Swat crisis. He appealed to civil society organisations to support the government in its fight against anti-state elements challenging the government writ and creating the law and order situation in the province.

The new building of the press club was established at a cost of Rs3.526 million.