Thirty-four wanted âtribal militantsâ, including the general secretary of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) in North Waziristan Agency, surrendered to the government on Monday after a peace deal was struck among elders, clerics and the civil administration. âThey (surrendered militants) are now loyal and patriotic Pakistanis,â North Waziristan chief administrator Zaheerul Islam said at a ceremony in Miranshah on Monday. He made no mention of amnesty to the 34 militants.| "No matter how many people they've killed..." |
The peace deal comes after months of fighting between security forces and tribal militants and their foreign guests in the border area, and operations in Khattey Kaley in September in which both sides reportedly suffered heavy casualties. Key JUI-F leader and former MNA Maulana Deen Dar brokered the deal with the militants, mostly from his own party. MNA Maulana Nek Zaman and Senator Mateen Shah also helped the government reach the deal.
Maulana Abdur Rehman, JUI-F general-secretary in North Waziristan, was prominent among those who surrendered. âWe donât know if there are any foreigners in North Waziristan. If there is anybody, he should register himself with the government,â Rehman said on the occasion. He said the âinfidel worldâ wanted to destroy Pakistanâs nuclear bomb, clerics and mosques. âBut we will not let it happen,â said Rehman, who security agencies suspected to be facilitating Al Qaeda in the area. The Monday peace deal was the first major âpolitical breakthroughâ since new Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Muhammad Hamid Khan took over in October.
Chief broker Dar urged the government to differentiate between âthe good and bad peopleâ in North Waziristan. He did not elaborate. Tribal elder Khan Asghar Khan, speaking at the peace deal ceremony, underscored the tribal peopleâs sacrifices for the defence of the country. âThe local population will never take a step that endangers the countryâs security,â he said. He asked the tribesmen to stay vigilant as the âenemyâ, an apparent reference to India, was trying on the western border to cause a divide between the tribes and the Pakistan Army. The North Waziristan administration did not release the details of the peace deal, or whether the surrendered militants were being kept in custody for interrogation or allowed to go home.