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| Thursday, 22 April 2004 |
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Pakistan gives more time to tribesmen to produce Al-Qaeda fighters ISLAMABAD Wednesday (AFP) Pakistani tribesmen suspended an operation to capture Al-Qaeda fighters and their local allies as the government said it would likely extend a deadline for militants to surrender. The tribal force, or "lashkar," had launched its own sweep of villages in Azam Warsak near the Afghan border to stave off a threat to repeat last month's army offensive, in which scores of homes were destroyed, at least 15 civilians killed and 93 local tribesmen captured. At least three homes of alleged Al-Qaeda harbourers had been demolished or torched over the past three days by up to 2,000 fighters from the Zalikhel clan armed with rifles and grenade launchers. Local administrator Rehmatullah Wazir told reporters tribal elders had suspended their operation for three days amid attempts to persuade tribal militants, who had been sheltering Al-Qaeda fugitives, to surrender to the authorities. "The deadline is likely to be extended because the lashkar needs more time for its operation," an interior ministry official told AFP. Pakistan has stepped up efforts this year against hundreds of Al-Qaeda fighters who have taken shelter in its semi-autonomous tribal zone since US-led forces toppled Afghanistan's Taliban regime in late 2001 and launched a manhunt for Al-Qaeda leaders. It unleashed late March its largest military operation against an Al-Qaeda sanctuary, where 500 to 600 fighters and local tribal allies were dug in. Some 300 escaped the 12-day siege of a cluster of villages around Azam Warsak, 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Afghan border. The army is eager to avoid further confrontation and risk provoking the fiercely independent tribes, whose cooperation is needed to drive the foreign fighters from their hideouts. North West Frontier Province governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah has convened a tribal council meeting in Peshawar, capital of the border province, to review the progress of tribal force's operation, officials said. |
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