16 July 2004	Friday	27 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

WANA, July 15: Security forces on Thursday sealed all exit and entry points of the South Waziristan region to force two most wanted militants accused of providing refuge to foreign militants to surrender as one wanted militant surrendered himself to authorities.

Maulana Shoukatullah Bizankhel, a wanted militant and a resident of Shakai, surrendered to the authorities in Wana, the regional headquarters, officials said. He was accused of providing shelter to foreign militants in Shakai valley and instigating people against security forces operating in the region near the Afghan border.

A jirga of the Ahmadzai Wazir has been convened at the Markazi Darululoom in Wana on Friday to discuss the current situation in the region. Local sources said that Maulana Noor Mohammad, a former MNA, and sitting MNA Maulana Abdul Malik would inform the jirga about their meeting with the two most wanted militants - Maulvi Abbas and Mohammad Javed.

Tribal parliamentarians met the wanted militants at an undisclosed location recently in a bid to persuade them to surrender to the government. Earlier, the militants had refused to surrender.

In another development, the army and paramilitary forces again imposed economic sanctions on the area, closing all intra-agency roads to vehicular traffic. This left hundreds of trucks loaded with fruit and vegetables stranded in the region.

Eyewitnesses said there were long queues of vehicles at different checkpoints, seeking permission from the authorities concerned to leave the area.