A tense calm prevailed in Swat district on Tuesday following a temporary ceasefire between militants and government forces on Monday
"It's calm, Sarge!"
"Too calm!" |
as a 25-member local jirga won support from the militants and the security forces for a permanent ceasefire, officials and elders said.
"We quit! Don't kill us!"
"Us, too!"
"Brothers in Islam!"
"Compadres!"
"Whut's that mean, varmint?"
"Who're youse callin' a 'varmint?'"
"Go fer yer guns, infidel!"
[BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!] |
“We have separately met military officials and a Taliban commander to win their support for a permanent ceasefire in the Kabal area,” Israr Ahmed, a key jirga member, said after the meetings. He said the jirga had meetings with Colonels Sarfraz and Jawad and Taliban commander Akbar Hussain to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire in Kabal and surroundings. “Both sides extended their full cooperation and from tomorrow (Wednesday) onwards Kabal bazaar will be reopened,” Awami National Party leader and jirga member Fazle Maullah told reporters. Under the proposed permanent ceasefire deal, the jirga said, the army would restrict itself to Kabal Golf Ground whereas the militants would remove their bunkers and leave the bazaar.
Maulana Sirajuddin, spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah, who is heading militancy in Swat, said the temporary ceasefire was reached on the governmentÂ’s request, adding that the government didnÂ’t made any contact for a permanent ceasefire. |