21 February 2004	Saturday	29 Zilhaj 1424

PESHAWAR, Feb 20: Authorities in the semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan have begun deployment of troops ahead of an impending operation to flush out Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants.

South Waziristan's administrator Mohammad Azam Khan told Dawn by phone from regional headquarters in Wana that they had begun setting up about two dozen check posts in targeted areas to check movements of suspected militants.

Troops were also being deployed in areas like Angor Adda, Azam Warsak, Kalusha, Shakai and Kham Rung that were being used as transit points by suspected Al Qaeda militants, he said.

"The deployment has begun", he said. "We are beefing up security as we enter into the second phase of our plan to flush out militants once and for all," he said. In a related development, authorities in South Waziristan Agency have also banned the use of tinted glass in vehicles.

Announcements were made in mosques and other public places through loudspeakers and pamphlets warning people to remove tinted glass from their vehicles.

Violation of the order would entail Rs50,000 in fine, three years in prison and confiscation of vehicle, Mr Azam Khan said. Officials said the unusually tough action was aimed at limiting the movement of militants who generally used vehicles with tinted glasses.

Mr Azam Khan said that the government planned to use the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the search and cordon operation. He said that regulars of the Pakistan Army, a brigade of which was already stationed in Wana, could only be used as a back-up.

He said that he had asked for reinforcements to beef up the around 4,000 paramilitary troops deployed in the area. Authorities in South Waziristan convened a jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribal elders early this week to convey its disappointment over the inability of a tribal force of volunteers to track down and hand over militants.

Officials said that the lashkar had been able to hand over only 48 of the 82 suspects, all of them local tribesmen suspected of harbouring and facilitating Al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Secretary, Fata (security), Brig Mahmood Shah has been camping in Wana for about a week to oversee arrangements for the operation 'based on real-time intelligence.' The officials said they expected authorities in the adjoining North Waziristan Agency to launch a similar operation.