Waziristan calm amid talk of ceasefire

MIRAMSHAH—The government on Tuesday said it was considering a ‘request’ by militants to cease fire and negotiate an agreement to restore peace in the Mirali sub-district after days of bloody clashes with security forces left over 200 people dead and many more wounded.

But residents of Mirali said a ceasefire agreement between militants and security forces had already been reached following mediation by a tribal jirga from Hangu and Orakzai tribal regions.

They also said that security forces had reopened the Bannu-Miramshah road and lifted the curfew that had been imposed on Mirali bazaar some time ago.

Military spokesman Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad, however, denied that any ceasefire agreement had been reached with militants and said that the government was considering their ‘request’ for cessation of hostilities.

“The request is under consideration. Security forces and the political administration are discussing the issue and a decision to this effect may be announced in a day or two,” he said.

He said the situation in Mirali had improved considerably after security forces fought back militants in three days of fierce clashes before Eid. “It’s not like artillery duel across the Line of Control where ceasefire takes place.”

Militants have said that they will not ask the government for a ceasefire but reports suggest that they may be changing their tactics after suffering heavy losses in recent clashes.

Maj-Gen Arshad confirmed that authorities had allowed shops to reopen in the Mirali bazaar and also reopened the Bannu-Miramshah road because of public demand. “We have done that to facilitate the people but security forces would continue to search vehicles for militants,” he remarked.

A jirga of about 85 tribal elders and clerics of Dawar tribe met the Administrator of North Waziristan, Aurangzeb Khan, and assured him of full cooperation.

Mr Khan expressed regrets over the loss of innocent lives but said that people who used their territory to launch attacks on security forces were responsible for the losses.

He said that foreign militants could live in the area provided they abided by the law of the land and lived peacefully.

Some jirga members said that the government had agreed to abandon five checkpoints in and around Miramshah, at Sargardan, Amin, Gora Qabristan, Stadium and Dattakhel and remove paramilitary troops.

But while the military spokesman denied that any permanent and old checkpoints had been abandoned, he did confirm that some temporary checkpoints had been closed down.

However, later reports suggested that paramilitary forces continued to man the checkpoints, although they were not actively searching vehicle.

As the dusk set in, Miramshah fort came under a barrage of rocket and missile attacks, suggesting that militants had decided to make the regional headquarters of Miramshah the main target of their attack.

The government says that over 200 militants had died in the fierce clashes and about 50 of them were foreigners.

Local residents have confirmed a report that a key militant commander, Eid Niaz, had been killed while a foreign militant commander, Abu Okasha, had been wounded.

Eid Niaz was appointed by the Taliban ‘Islamic Emirate’ to head the Shura in Miramshah. He was considered loyal to Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of commander Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Mr Niaz, however, had to stand down as head of the Taliban Shura in Miramshah after opposition from Hafiz Gul Bahadar.