17 January 2005	Monday	06 Zilhaj 1425

PESHAWAR, Jan 16: Military authorities are expected to release soon two most senior protectors of Taliban and Al Qaeda in the South Waziristan tribal region to reward the Waziri tribesmen in the Shakai Valley for flushing out local and foreign militants.

Official sources told Dawn the authorities had decided to release Eida Khan and Dawar, the two main protectors of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the Shakai Valley, in the next few days to reward the tribesmen in Shakai for their cooperation to the government in clearing the area of militants.

Both had surrendered to the authorities and had been in detention for about seven months, following a massive operation against local and foreign militants in Shakai last June. Eida Khan and Dawar Khan topped the list of most wanted militants who had played host to foreign militants and provided them with sanctuary in their native area.

The sources said that Eida Khan and Dawar had subsequently been turned over to an intelligence agency for interrogation. "The agency people say they no longer require the two as they have revealed all they knew about foreign militants," one source said.

"These people are no longer of any intelligence value and would have been released at any rate," the source added. Eida and Dawar had no past history of affiliation with militants nor had they participated in the 'Jihad' in Afghanistan.

"They ran a roadside hotel in Shakai and had come into contact with foreign militants seeking sanctuary which they readily provided," said the source. Their release was part of the package announced by Corps Commander, Peshawar, Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, at a jirga of Waziri tribesmen on Wednesday.

The Corps Commander said the government would release all those captured during and after the military operation in Shakai as a token of appreciation for tribesmen's cooperation in cleansing the area of foreign militants.

Interestingly, eight others to be released as part of the package include those who are yet to surrender to the authorities to take advantage of the amnesty offer to those supporting local and foreign militants.

Among them is Eida Khan's brother Omar, another tribesman known as Khanan of Slair and one identified as Lumbar. The eight tribesmen are lesser mortals, according to this source, but had remained on the wanted list for their support to foreign militants.

"They are ready to surrender. And when they do, they will be released as part of the understanding the authorities have reached with Waziri tribesmen in Shakai," the source remarked.

Troops Movement: The source said that the army had moved one battalion to Garwam on the border between South and North Waziristan to cut off a possible escape route for the most wanted militant, Abdullah Mehsud.

The source said that the troop's deployment was part of a plan to strike and capture the 29-year-old former Guantanamo Bay detainee responsible for the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in October last year.

The military had initially set January 15 as the deadline for the one-legged militant to surrender. The deadline, however, was extended to January 26 on the request of Mehsud tribesmen in view of the approaching Eid and extreme cold weather.

"We are letting it known to Abdullah that we are staying put and that time for him is fast running out," commented one official, requesting anonymity. Abdullah has refused to surrender to the authorities but government officials claim he is in contact with them through intermediaries to work out modalities before giving himself up.

"There is a 50-60 per cent chance that he may surrender and that's why he has been keeping quiet and not issuing any public statement," the official said.