A national jirga of the Saafi tribe will meet on Sunday (today) to discuss the growing “Talibanisation” of Mohmand Agency, official sources and tribal elders said on Saturday. “The jirga has been called to discuss some incidents related to the Taliban,” officials at the NWFP governor’s FATA Secretariat told Daily Times. Security agencies in the agency bordering Bajaur, where Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militancy is growing, have warned the government of “growing Taliban influence” in Mohmand Agency. “Very few key Taliban leaders have been identified and most have not been pinned down yet,” sources close to security agencies said. A tribal elder from Ghalanai, Mohmand Agency regional headquarters, said elders of the Saafi tribe would seek collective efforts to prevent the agency from “slipping into the hands of people who could create a Waziristan-like situation” in Mohmand. There have been a series of incidents in the agency in the recent past that appear to involve the Taliban. The political administration, however, denied this. “We have noticed some Taliban-linked activities. Initial reports reveal that the base or support for the Taliban is thin right now but it might grow if we do not contain them,” official sources said on condition of anonymity. |