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| 26 January 2004 | Monday | 03 Zilhaj 1424 |
Jirga rejects ultimatum
BANNU, Jan 25: A jirga of the Bakakhel Wazir on Sunday rejected government ultimatum to produce missing Punjab Minister Naeemullah Shahani by Monday.
The jirga, which met here at Mandi Bakakhel, held the North Waziristan Agency's administrator responsible for the mysterious disappearance of the minister.
NWFP Home Secretary Abdul Karim Qasuria had given a 72-hour deadline to the Bakakhel tribe to hand over the minister, otherwise action would be taken against it.
The ultimatum caused strong resentment among the tribesmen who denied the presence of the minister in the region which borders North Waziristan Agency. Mr Shahani along with his three companions visited the agency but went missing on Jan 10.
Malik Nawab Ali Narmikhel, Malik Abbas Ali, Malik Mohammad Ayub Khan, Malik Gul Ahmad Khan, Shah Behram and other elders of the Bakakhel tribe addressed the jirga. They maintained that the North Waziristan Agency' administrator and Senator Ajmal Khan were hatching conspiracies against the Bakakhel tribe.
Rejecting the home secretary's version, the angry tribesmen said the government had levelled baseless charges against the Bakakhel tribe. The jirga unanimously decided that the tribe would take action in accordance with its traditions against the kidnappers if their identity being Bakakhel tribesmen was proved. It was decided that the administration would not be allowed to launch an operation against the Bakakhel tribe, but the government would be facilitated in its ongoing search operation.
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