KHAR, Aug 15: Tribal elders in Pakistan have been threatened with reprisals for attending last week’s talks in Kabul aimed at ending support for Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, officials said on Wednesday.
The tribal council or jirga, involving tribes from both sides of the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistan border, pledged to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in their respective tribal regions.
But an anonymous letter sent to elders in the Bajaur tribal area threatened unspecified “action” against them for taking part.
“Your participation at the jirga was not a good decision,” officials quoted the letter as saying. “Action will be taken against you,” it warned.
Local security official Adalat Khan said at least four tribal elders in a remote town in the region had received the warnings.
Bajaur district is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in northwest Pakistan.—AFP
