A Pakistani jet fighter was seen flying in the skies of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Saturday soon after a US drone flew over the border areas but there was no untoward incident. Tribal sources said a PAF jet fighter appeared at around 1:30pm in the border towns of NWA, minutes after a drone was seen inside the Pakistani territory and hovered over the area for more than 40 minutes. Neither the CIA-operated Predator nor the Pakistani jet fighter took any offensive action as the two planes didn't encounter each other.
Meanwhile,
| A Jirga of the in the NWA threatened US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan with attacks in Kabul, Bagram and Kandahar, if it failed to stop attacks on innocent tribesmen across the border and announced to raise a tribal Lashkar for the purpose. |
The Jirga comprising Malik Nasrullah, Malik Qadar Khan, Malik Mamoor, Malik Muhammad Afzal Khan, Malik Mumtaz and Malik Habibullah welcomed the statement of Pakistan's Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and vowed to defend the country's frontiers against foreign aggression alongside the security forces. "Statement of the Army chief is the voice of eight million tribesmen and that of the 160 million Pakistanis and has served as healing sources for the heirs of those innocent women and children, who were killed in the attacks," they said.
The elders believed that the US attacks in Pakistan were providing reasons to the tribesmen to fight alongside their brethren in Afghanistan against the occupation of their land by foreign forces.
Malik Afzal Khan Darpakhel on the occasion said history of tribesmen is replete with the stories of bravery, valour and courage, which would definitely be repeated at this critical juncture of time, adding, "In Parvez Kayani, we see that leadership and we offer him our all-out support against the aggressors, who deserve a befitting reply for their cowardly acts against innocent population," he said.
He also urged the government to come forward and represent its own people by safeguarding their interests instead of looking towards others for country's safety. "The government should not turn its back to the tribesmen in this hour of need," he said.