07 March 2005	Monday	25 Muharram 1426

PESHAWAR, March 6: The authorities will seize heavy weapons belonging to tribesmen near the Afghan border if they are not surrendered in a government buy-back programme meant to disarm militants in the lawless region , a security official said Saturday.

The government wants to purchase anti-aircraft guns, missiles, mortars, rocket launchers, landmines, hand-grenades, light machineguns and assault rifles from tribesmen, Brigadier Mehmood Shah, security chief of tribal areas, told AFP.

"We are waiting a response from tribesmen and if no one comes up to sell these weapons then we will work out a strategy to confiscate them," Shah said.

"A committee has been set up in each tribal region to execute the government's policy on keeping such lethal arms away from the people," he said. Tribesmen, however, could keep some small arms for personal protection, he said.

He did not say how many estimated heavy weapons were in the tribal regions or how much money the government had put aside for the buy-back. -afp