Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said on Tuesday that foreign terrorists hiding in Waziristan would not be given amnesty “because the deadline has now expired”, Online reported. “All camps of Afghan refugees in the tribal areas have been closed. The process of their repatriation has also been accelerated,” he said. The government wants peace in the restive area but attacks on security forces will not be tolerated, he said at a meeting with tribal elders from Miranshah, Datta Khel and Mir Ali. “The government will hold talks unconditionally with those who want peace and development, however all should join hands to restore peace and tranquility in the region,” Online quoted Sherpao as telling the tribal elders.
Staff report adds: The tribal elders urged the government to form a bipartisan parliamentary committee to resolve the conflict in tribal areas. But, flanked by Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli, the minister of state for information, Sherpao turned down the proposal. He said that a parliamentary committee of opposition and treasury members might politicise the sensitive issue. He sought open support from opposition members to overcome the trouble.
Sherpao rejected the claims of the tribal elders that security forces had only arrested Afghan refugees from their areas. “I have already said that we arrested Arabs, Chinese, Uzbeks, Turkish and Chechens from Waziristan,” he told journalists after the meeting.
He said the Al Qaeda network had been broken in the tribal areas, “but some of its operatives are still at large and making attempts to create a law and order situation in Pakistan”. He said Al Qaeda operatives might be present in other parts of the country. He said the government had banned the display of arms in Miranshah, Mir Ali and adjacent areas. “Almost every home in the tribal areas has weapons. We have asked them not to display arms.”
The interior minister favoured the process of interaction with tribal leaders, saying his ministry would facilitate negotiations between the NWFP governor and the tribal elders. Malik Attaullah and Malik Haji Muhammad Haleem, who led the delegation, told the minister that hatred of the armed forces was on the rise amongst the general public of the tribal areas. Attaullah told Daily Times that Waziristan residents were reacting to attacks by security forces.