Militants claiming to have abducted scores of Pakistani troops
near the Afghan border demanded yesterday that the army withdraw
from the area, as talks aimed at securing the soldiers' release
continued, a militant spokesman and officials said.
Separately, a bomb killed at least four people and wounded 10
more at a market in South Waziristan's main town of Wana.
A delegation of some 60 tribal elders, clerics and lawmakers met
government officials in Wana yesterday, a day after talks with
militants ended without signs of a breakthrough.
"Their deliberation is going on. Now let's wait and see what
result it gets," said Major General Waheed Arshad, the army's top
spokesman.
The army says more than 150 soldiers have gone missing, trapped
by fighting between pro-government tribesmen and militants,
although other officials say the troops were abducted.
An intelligence official in the region said yesterday that
militants abducted 205 troops - 135 army soldiers, 70 paramilitary
troops - and seized 20 military vehicles. He was speaking on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media
comments.
Ten other troops have been missing since late Saturday in
Mohmand, another tribal area north of South Waziristan, Arshad
said. He did not elaborate.
A militant spokesman claimed the abductions both in South
Waziristan and in Mohmand and accused authorities of violating a
February 2005 peace deal.
"We have detained 300 security forces... they are our in
prisons," said Zulfiqar Mehsud, a man who claims to speak for
Baitullah Mehsud, a militant commander in South Waziristan who was
party to the 2005 agreement.
"Unless the government comes back to the agreement ... there are
no chances for the jirga (tribal council) to succeed."
Under the deal, the militant commander was granted amnesty in
return for his promise not to attack security forces or harbor
foreign militants.
"The government should pull out army troops from the area and
should not set up new security posts," the spokesman said.
The militants also demand the release of 15 suspected fighters
who have been arrested in Pakistan in recent weeks, the
intelligence official said.
Arshad said that he was not aware of any militant demands. He
blamed militants for violating the deal by launching attacks on
security forces and denied the agreement provided for a military
pull back.
Pakistan's military is grappling with a deteriorating security
situation along the Afghan border, amid a spike in attacks by
pro-Taliban fighters and fears Al-Qaida is regrouping in the
region.
Meanwhile, militants warned soldiers to leave the region in
pamphlets distributed in Mir Ali, a town in the neighboring North
Waziristan tribal area.
(China Daily via agencies September 3, 2007)
