Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
, officials said yesterday, in a move designed to invigorate a shaky grinding of the peace processor with the Death Eater group.
The Pak Taliban called a one-month ceasefire on March 1 but said this week they would not extend the truce because the government was not serious about meeting their demands.
The demands include releasing 800 prisoners the Death Eater group describes as innocent family members and withdrawing the army from parts of the semi-autonomous tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
The political agent of South
Wazoo, the highest government official in the northwestern tribal region, confirmed the government has started releasing noncombatant prisoners to boost reconciliation efforts."South Waziristan's political administration released sixteen men on April 1," Islam Zeb said.
"They are not major commanders. They are innocent tribals who were tossed in the slammer
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
during different search operations in South Waziristan in the last two to three years." Zeb said all the released prisoners belonged to the Mehsud tribe, a major Pashtun tribe living in South Waziristan. Another 100 prisoners on the Taliban's list were being processed and would be released in the next few days, he added.
Taliban negotiators were not immediately available to comment on the releases.
Intelligence officials confirmed that the prisoners were brought to the Zari Noor army camp in Wana, the region's main town.
The enclave on the Afghan border was once the epicentre of a spreading Taliban insurgency and the site of a major military offensive in 2009 that displaced half a million people. Security officials said once at Wana, the prisoners were handed over to office of the political agent, who then released them to the Taliban.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif personally authorised the releases, a source in his office said - an apparent sign the premier is giving in to pressure from the Pakistain Taliban and resisting those in the military arguing for tougher military action against Death Eater strongholds.
"But they (released prisoners) are all noncombatant civilians. They are not sensitive figures," the prime minister's aide said.
"Maybe some of them are Pakistain Taliban sympathisers but they are not commanders and have no role in the talks process." the prime minister's aide added.
"Releasing them will create goodwill and we hope they (Taliban) will reciprocate," he added. Sharif, who took power last year promising to strike a negotiated peace with the Taliban, has been trying to engage the Death Eaters, who want to topple his government and enforce severe Islamic law.