| The political administration of Bajaur Agency arrested 49 members of the Salarzai tribe and impounded 12 vehicles in a crackdown against the tribe on Friday, official sources said. The measure follows an ambush by local Taliban on a convoy of security personnel heading towards the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Salarzai tehsil on Thursday. They released the men after mediation by a jirga of elders, but refused to return their weapons and ammunition. Assistant Political Agent for the sub division Iqbal Khattak said: “The operation will continue until they return all the weapons and ammunition.” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Maulvi Umar told Daily Times by telephone that the security personnel had been captured because they were passing through a Taliban area without informing them about their movements. |