ISLAMABAD, 22 July 2006 — Pakistani tribesmen held a rare meeting yesterday to try to broker a peace deal between the government and Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants operating near the Afghan border, officials said.
The 45-member “grand jirga” or council including tribal elders, local legislators and Islamic scholars gathered in Miranshah, the capital of restive North Waziristan region.
Hundreds of people have died in recent clashes between security forces and militants in the semi-autonomous tribal zone, but the insurgents launched a unilateral cease-fire there last month.
The government and the tribesmen say they are trying to find a political solution in accordance with tribal customs and traditions, instead of dealing with the problem through military means.
“We are passing through a very difficult and delicate phase of our history,” Lt. Gen. Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, the governor of North West Frontier Province which borders the tribal region, told jirga members on Thursday.
“The current situation demands that we must take every step with caution and a deep sense of commitment and responsibility.”
On the eve of the council meeting, the authorities as a “goodwill gesture” released 32 tribesmen and also removed six checkpoints from bazaars in Miranshah and the nearby town of Mir Ali, local official Fakhre Alam said. But at the same time, it was rounding up scores of Afghan nationals in the southwestern province of Balochistan, amid international pressure to nab Taleban militants suspected to be launching cross-border attacks into southern Afghanistan.
A release ceremony was held at a government compound attended by officials and tribal elders. About 500 other tribesmen, many wearing turbans, welcomed the freed men as they stepped out of the government compound where the ceremony was held, exchanging hugs before driving off with them in a convoy of about 35 pickup trucks. The trucks bore black and white flags, the ensign of local Taleban fighters.
Officials said the immediate task of the jirga would be to get an extension in the truce, which expires on July 25.
The cease-fire ended months of deadly roadside bombings and firefights between troops and militants. But the rebels also gave a string of demands, including replacing army troops with tribal police and the release of all tribesmen detained in military operations.
Meanwhile, in Balochistan six alleged rebel commanders and two hundred of their followers laid down their arms and surrendered before the regional government yesterday.
The surrender took place in Dera Bugti town, located 600 kilometers east of the provincial capital Quetta. Arms included hand grenades, rockets, rocket launchers, surface-to-air missile batteries, anti-aircraft guns and a huge quantity of ammunition.
