26 September 2004	Sunday	10 Shaban 1425

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WANA, Sept 25: Tribal militants battling security forces in South Waziristan have demanded return of the military to peace-time positions in order to restore confidence between the two sides, sources said.

A member of the 29-man peace delegation that had met militant commanders Abdullah Mehsud and Baitullah Mehsud at an undisclosed place between Jandola and Karwan Manza on Friday told Dawn that the militants wanted the army to return to previous positions and forts in South Waziristan before they could enter into a meaningful dialogue with the government.

"There is a lack of mutual trust and it will take some time to overcome that," the delegate said.

Talks between the militants and the peace committee lasted for about six hours. The militant commanders were guarded by a group of 30 young comrades, one witness said.

The delegate, seeking anonymity, said they conveyed to the militants to disarm, give up violence and hand over foreign fighters to the government for registration following which they would be allowed to live provided they furnished guarantees of future good conduct.

"They were not committing anything on foreign militants and they said they did not have any trust in the government," the source said.

"Their attitude was not aggressive but they did make it clear that there could be no agreement unless the government withdrew its forces to peace-time positions," the source said.

Quoting Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo prisoner, the source said that the militant commander referred to the Sept 9 bombings in Dela and charged that the government had targeted the area despite promises that it would not conduct any operation in Mehsud territory.

"There were no foreign militants in that area. Only civilians, women and children were killed," the source quoted Abdullah Mehsud as saying.

"We have agreed to continue talking to each other and we will meet again to discuss various options," the source said.

The committee is likely to meet NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah early next week to convey the demands of the militant commanders and seek clarifications on certain matters.

The source said the peace committee had asked for the release of army driver Muhammad Subhan being held by the militants since a military convoy was ambushed following the bombing in Dela.

But Abdullah Mehsud responded that the driver would be released only before the media. The source said that the authorities did not agree to the media's involvement and wanted the matter to come to an end through behind-the-scene negotiations.