PESHAWAR, July 24: The grand inter-tribal jirga has for the time being given up its efforts to revive the agreement reached between the government and the militants in September, as the two sides have refused to budge from their stands, according to mediators.

“The government wanted the militants to furnish guarantees to implement the Sept 5 deal in its totality, whereas the militants have linked talks with the complete withdrawal of troops from check posts in the troubled region,” said a mediator.

Members of the jirga, who returned from Miramshah on Monday, went into a huddle on Tuesday. Later in the day they met the NWFP governor after which they dispersed, without reaching any conclusions.

“The bottom line is that the jirga has dispersed without reaching any conclusion, because both sides are reluctant to show flexibility,” a tribal elder told Dawn.

He said that after mutual discussions and after meeting Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, the jirga tasked the elders of North and South Waziristan to persuade militants to reconsider their demands and soften their stance.

“The elders will discuss matters with the militants and if any progress is made they would reconvene the inter-tribal jirga,” the elder said. He added that it now depended on the elders of the North Waziristan Agency to bring back militants to the negotiating table.

A handout issued from the Governor’s House said: “After the meeting, the jirga members informed the officials of the Fata Secretariat that since the situation in North Waziristan Agency was not conducive for them to work as a whole, the jirga members, particularly those hailing from North Waziristan Agency and South Waziristan Agency, would visit Miramshah to make fresh efforts for peace in the area, in their individual capacities.”

The official statement said that during the meeting, it was emphasised that the channels of communications would remain open and all efforts to restore peace in the area would continue.

Another elder said during their two-day stay in Miramshah, militant commanders refused to hold direct talks with the inter-tribal jirga and used emissaries to sort out things. “The militants had taken a rigid stand and had refused to meet jirga’s members, which is against the basic spirit of Pukhtun culture and traditions,” he remarked.

Mr Aurakzai, according to the sources, told the mediators at the Governor’s House that the government would not withdraw security forces from the check posts, unless the Utmanzai tribe and militants gave fresh guarantees, ensuring an end to attacks on the troops, suicide bombings, target killings and cross-border movement of the militants.

“We have constraints. It is not possible for the government to pull out troops from the check posts without guarantee,” the source quoted the governor as saying. He said the governor reiterated that the government wanted to restore peace and keep the deal intact, but tribesmen would have to show a reasonable stance.

Militants had demanded of the government to vacate check posts and send the army and paramilitary forces back to the pre-July 8 position. The government redeployed troops at the check posts after a spate of attacks on the security forces and growing lawlessness in the volatile region.

Residents in Miramshah said that massive movement of troops was under way in the region bordering Afghanistan, following deadly suicide attacks on the security forces. They said that troops had been deployed at the hilltops and main roads, which made the situation tense.