The Taliban handed over five kidnapped persons to a peace jirga on Monday. Muhammad, Ahmed, Akbar, Muslim and Councillor Yaqoot Khan from Taura Wari were kidnapped by the Taliban two days ago. The jirga headed by Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Mufti Said Janan talked to the Taliban leadership and convinced them to release the kidnapped men.Talks resume: The jirga that also included elders from the Hangu district and Orakzai Agency resumed dialogue with the administration after a three-day break to broker a peace agreement between the Taliban and the administration. Sources said that during the talks the administration drew the jirga members' attention towards kidnappings by the Taliban, while the jirga urged the administration to release seven Taliban in exchange for eight government officials freed by the Taliban a few days ago. Jirga members Maulana Hussain Asghar and Mufti Inamullah said the dialogue was progressing and that the two sides had agreed to continue the talks.
Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed in Duaba from 7am to 5pm and from 7am to 6pm in the Hangu city. In Hangu, police said they had 29 arrested persons trying to smuggle more than 800 tonnes of flour to Afghanistan. Thousands of flour bags being smuggled to Afghanistan by trucks have been seized, a top police officer told Daily Times. He said the flour bags would be distributed among the people in Hangu on the rates prescribed by the government.