"It's calm, sir!"
"Yes. Too calm!" |
An uneasy calm prevailed Friday in a volatile tribal region in northwestern Pakistan where fighting earlier this week between security forces and suspected pro-Taleban militants left 40 militants dead, residents said. Friday marked the first time in the past 24 hours that the sound of gunshots hadnÂ’t reverberated around North Waziristan, of which Miran Shah is the main town, said tribal elder Subhan Allah. Elders were to meet later Friday to discuss how Pakistani military operations could be avoided in future, he said. Local authorities displayed only eight of the slain rebelsÂ’ bodies at a government compound Thursday, and relatives took them to neighboring South Waziristan for burial, said Allah. |