Lets hope its true…no Osama. Pakistanis killed for nothing.
PESHAWAR, Nov 26: The armed forces on Friday announced withdrawal of troops and removal of check posts from all parts of the Wana subdivision of the south Waziristan tribal region.
The announcement was made by Corps Commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain while speaking at a jirga of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe at the Governor House here.
According to an official handout, Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Inspector General of the Frontier Corps (FC), Tariq Masood, and senior officials were present on the occasion. About 400 elders and maliks and three most wanted militants Maulvi Abbas, Maulvi Javed and Maulvi Abdul Aziz, who recently accepted a government amnesty, attended the jirga.
Troops had entered the area in 2002 to launch an operation against foreign and local militants, extend the writ of the government to inaccessible tribal regions and carry out development activities.
Official sources said that the military had already started withdrawing from certain parts of the Wana subdivision. These troops, they said, were returning to the Brigade Headquarters in the Zari Noor Colony.
They said that about 3,000 troops were still in the areas mostly inhabited by the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe. The army has nine check posts in Wana. Gen Safdar said that all interim check posts would be removed from Wana and innocent people taken prisoner would be released.
“Peace has been restored in Wana and now the military will not use force in any part of the area,” he declared. He expressed the hope that the tribesmen also would fulfil their responsibility to maintain peace and tranquillity in their area.
The sources said that the withdrawal of the troops and removal of check posts from the Wana subdivision was part of a deal reached between the government and five most wanted militants.
Under the agreement, they said, the five wanted persons gave up resistance, promised to deny shelter to foreign militants and give surety of good conduct. The agreement required the government to announce clemency for the wanted people, pay compensation for property damage and release prisoners.
Gen Safdar said that the army’s primary objective was to defend national security and frontiers and it would continue to fulfil these duties. The Ahmadzai Wazirs made a commitment to work for restoration of peace and reiterated their full support for agreements reached with the government.
Governor Iftikhar Hussain stressed the need for promoting peace in the South Waziristan region and said he was happy to note that the Ahmadzai Wazirs had realized the importance of reconciliation.
He expressed the hope that the misunderstanding among the tribal people had been removed and a new era of confidence building would be ushered in. He assured the tribal elders that the government had never been nor would ever be against any tribe.
“You give us peace, we give you development” the governor told the tribesmen. “If you cooperate with us in our efforts for peace we assure you that we will alleviate your poverty,” he said.
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