PESHAWAR, Jan 26: A tribal jirga is meeting with Baitullah Mehsud, chief of the tribal 'mujahideen' in South Waziristan, on Thursday (today) to persuade him to surrender to the authorities without any conditions, sources told Dawn.
The seven-member jirga, including religious leaders and at least two tribal notables called maliks in local parlance, will meet the mujahideen chief at a remote snow-bound location in Waziristan, said the sources.
"If every thing goes well, according to the plan, the jirga should meet Baitullah on Thursday," said a knowledgeable source. He said the highly secretive Baitullah would meet the jirga at a designated place to be communicated to them the same day at some location somewhere in the snow-bound mountains in Waziristan.
The jirga would return the same day and meet the authorities the following day to convey to them what had transpired at the meeting. "I think it would take anywhere close to three days at least before Baituallah agrees and come forward to surrender," said the source.
But the source warned against growing optimism about the surrender of the man, which could tilt the balance of conflict in the restive South Waziristan tribal region heavily in favour of the government.
"So far the indications are positive. The man has indicated that he is willing to surrender in principle and may not insist on the surrender of Abdullah Mehsud. But in tribal areas, it happens when it actually happens," the source remarked.
Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain told this paper on Tuesday that there were positive indications that Baitullah Mehsud might not insist on extending the government's amnesty to Abdullah Mehsud as a pre-condition for his surrender to the authorities.
The one-legged Abdullah Mehsud, 29, who has spent time at Guantanamo Bay, is wanted to the government for masterminding the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in early October last year and carries a head money of Rs5 million.
