Several Pakistani army commandos, who were air dropped in the areas held by the al-Qaeda militants in the South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, appear to have been trapped and efforts are on to rescue them by engaging tribal elders to negotiate for their safe release.
| Brilliant, Mahmoud, brilliant. |
Reports from the Waziristan agency said the fighting died down on Sunday mainly due to the fact that the authorities had started negotiations with the militants through the local tribal elders.
| Comes as a surprise, doesn't it? |
While the details of the army operation, which continued into its fourth day today, were sketchy due to restrictions imposed by Pakistan authorities on media, local tribesmen, who got out of Mandata and Shakai areas, told the News daily that several Army commandos were trapped in the area and efforts were on to rescue them. They said elders from local tribes have been approached to negotiate with militants for safe return of the trapped personnel. However, there was no official reaction to the report so far. |