MIRAMSHAH, July 22: Militants in North Waziristan on Saturday extended their conditional ceasefire by another month to give an inter-tribal jirga a chance to help restore peace, a militant commander said.
“We have agreed to extend the ceasefire by another month,” Abdullah Farhad told Dawn in Peshawar by phone from Miramshah.
The decision followed three hours of talks between a three-member committee of militant leaders and the 45-member inter-tribal jirga constituted by the government.
The militants were represented by their shura amir, Hafiz Gul Bahadar, and wanted clerics Maulana Sadiq Noor and Maulana Abdul Khaliq.
Over a hundred militants were present when talks began at Islami Madressah Hassina at Nauraq.
Previously, the militants had announced a one-month conditional ceasefire on June 25.
The extension was expected as the government had accepted three of their four main demands, including the release of militants, removal of six paramilitary checkposts set up recently and restoration of rights and privileges of tribesmen.
The other demands — namely the withdrawal of regular troops from checkposts and their ultimate pullout from the tribal region — are yet to be discussed, but sources said the militants were unlikely to press the issue as long as the military agreed not to interfere in tribal matters.
Meanwhile, the sources said that following the lifting of paramilitary checkposts from Miramshah and Mirali bazaars considerable increase in movement of armed militants was noticed.
