July 13, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 16, 1427

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PESHAWAR, July 12: NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai has said the exact number of foreigners in Waziristan cannot be confirmed but it can be between 150 and 200.

Talking to journalists at the Governor’s House here on Wednesday, he said the fate of the foreigners hiding in the North Waziristan Agency would be decided through the ongoing political process.

He was confident that the North Waziristan issue would be resolved through dialogue, saying criminal elements were fuelling unrest in the agency since local Taliban announced a one-month ceasefire.

When asked about post-ceasefire bomb blasts and a suicide attack on security forces in the agency, Mr Aurakzai denied involvement of foreigners and local militants in such activities.

He believed that certain elements who were neither Taliban nor foreigners but criminals were trying to create unrest, who were also distributing pamphlets in the area.

He claimed that since the unilateral ceasefire by militants, violence was on the decline and the situation was improving in North Waziristan.

Militants had announced a one-month conditional ceasefire in the agency on June 25 to pave way for a permanent solution to the year-long bloody conflict that has left hundreds of civilians and troops dead and wounded.

Mr Aurakzai said efforts were underway to bring lasting peace to Waziristan and “stakeholders” of the conflict were being taken into confidence. However, he did not say who were the stakeholders.

Answering a question, the governor termed poverty, illiteracy and unemployment as core factors behind the prevailing unrest and tension in the Federally Administered Tribal Area.

To address the issue of unemployment in the area, he said, four new wings were being inducted in the Frontier Corps to employ around 3,000 tribesmen.

He said the government had also approved 2,800 vacancies in Levies to strengthen the tribal security force, adding that most of the jobs would go to the people of Waziristan.

Elaborating the security mechanism for settled areas of the province bordering tribal areas, the governor said the government was establishing Frontier Constabulary checkposts in those areas to check movement of criminals.