An armed group of militants occupied the house of a member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Bajaur Agency on Sunday, but vacated it after intervention by elders.
About 25 militants broke into engineer ShaukatullahÂ’s house after overpowering two security guards. AFP said they took the MNAÂ’s family and servants hostage, but it could not ascertain how many people had been held. The occupation continued for nearly two hours.
| The militants demanded that the MNA stop opposing the local Taliban and hand over a hill containing marble reserves to them. |
A jirga of tribal elders was formed to persuade the Taliban militants to end the occupation. The militants demanded that the MNA stop opposing the local Taliban and hand over a hill containing marble reserves to them. “The Taliban are demanding that Shaukatullah Khan hands over his land and a hill from where marble is extracted,” a local tribesman told AFP The militants relinquished the control of the house after the elders assured them that their demands would be considered.
Meanwhile, the political administration arrested seven tribesmen during a crackdown against the Salarzai tribe in search of the militants involved in the killing of a security official in the area about a week ago. |