13 August 2004	Friday	26 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

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WANA, Aug 12: Political authorities and Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen are inching towards an agreement to deny sanctuary to militants in the volatile South Waziristan tribal region.

In a major development, all nine sub-tribes of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe have agreed to provide protection to security forces stationed in the region, and not to allow foreign and local militants to operate in their respective areas or carry out illegal activities.

Elders of the Ahmadzai Wazir held a meeting with political agent Asmatullah Khan Gandapur here on Thursday in which it was decided that each sub-clan would furnish a guarantee of Rs10 million to protect law-enforcement agencies against any hostile action in the area.

A tribal elder who attended the meeting said that the tribesmen pledged not to support militants and each sub-tribe would deposit a cash guarantee on Friday. Reciprocally, he claimed, the government would lift economic sanctions against the tribe.

"We accept the responsibility to provide complete protection to the security forces in the region," he said. The government had imposed economic sanctions on the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe on June 12 after tribesmen failed to register foreign militants. The two-month-long trade curbs had crippled economic activities in the region.

It now appears that the government had now softened its stand on the registration issue and instead accepted guarantees furnished by tribes to deny sanctuary to the militants.

The government insisted that all foreign militants must register themselves with the authorities and told tribesmen to furnish guarantees of their good conduct. Under the proposed agreement the tribes would be responsible for any hostile act against security forces in their area.