Declaring that peace had been restored in part of Pakistan's restive tribal areas, Pakistani military officials have announced that their troops will abandon positions and checkpoints near the town of Wana in the South Waziristan tribal area. "Peace has been restored in Wana," Lt. Gen. Safdar Hussain, commander of Pakistani forces in the area, said at a meeting Friday with tribal elders. "Now the military will not apply force in any part of the area."
The move appears to signal that the Pakistani military has dropped its central demand in the tribal areas: that all foreigners agree to come forward and register with the government. Residents of Wana reported that militants continued to roam around the town, in some cases in even larger numbers. Pakistani military officials have sharply reduced their estimates of the number of militants hiding in the tribal areas. They say only 70 to 80 foreign militants remain in the area, as opposed to earlier estimates of as many as 500. Residents have said local Pakistani tribesmen who fought alongside the Taliban, as well as Uzbeks and other foreign fighters, remain in the area. The plan is a result of an agreement among the government and five wanted members of one the area's largest tribes, officials said. Three of the most wanted Pakistani militants in the tribe, who attended the meeting, recently accepted government amnesty in exchange for renouncing both their attacks and support for foreign militants. Under the deal, officials said, five wanted tribal members would give up resistance, deny shelter to foreign militants and promise good conduct. In exchange, the government granted the five clemency, agreed to pay for property damage, and pledged to release innocent prisoners.
| They've done this before. Just look how well it worked with Nek Mohammad... |
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