March 4, 2006	Saturday	Safar 3, 1427

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MIRAMSHAH, March 3: The local Taliban shoora has warned tribal elders against meeting personnel of the armed forces and the political authorities or cooperating with them in the North Waziristan Agency.

The chief of the shoora, Maulvi Abdul Khaliq, told journalists at Gulshan-i-Uloom Madressah on Friday that the shoora had decided that elders of three major tribes — Utmanzai, Dawar and Wazir — would not negotiate with the army or the administration.

“Elders and maliks have to obey the decision of the shoora. If anybody violates the decision, the shoora will propose punishment,” Maulvi Khaliq warned.

Taliban believe that the army killed innocent people in Wednesday’s operation in Dandy Sidgay area.

The Taliban from local seminaries have also banned distribution of three Urdu dailies in North Waziristan. Maulvi Khaliq said the dailies had carried one-sided and concocted stories against the local Taliban. “These newspapers are presenting a negative image of the Taliban and their leaders and, therefore, their distribution has been banned,” he said.

The armed Taliban who had vacated on Thursday night government buildings they had occupied earlier in the day, occupied key locations in Miramshah bazaar on Friday and continued patrolling streets.

Officials said the main telephone exchange had been handed over to the staff after talks between the Taliban and local administration and Khasadar force had been deployed.

Tension remained high in the area for the second day and paramilitary forces started digging trenches around their bases.

Officials said militants fired rockets on military installations on Thursday night and the security forces retaliated with artillery fire.