October 12, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 29, 1428

PESHAWAR, Oct 11: NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai on Thursday said that efforts were under way for a ceasefire in the restive North Waziristan Agency.

“Efforts for a ceasefire and return to normality in North Waziristan are under way through a small tribal jirga,” he told journalists after administering oath to Shamsul Mulk as caretaker chief minister at the Governor’s House.

He told reporters that a small jirga was trying to broker a ceasefire and restore peace to the troubled region. “I am hopeful of its positive outcome,” he remarked.

“Back-channel diplomacy is on,” was his reply to anther question regarding peace efforts for the volatile region. He, however, said that a bigger jirga could be constituted when the small jirga succeeded in bringing about a ceasefire.

“Such a jirga, comprising elders and representatives from all over the agency, may be constituted later on,” he added.

The NWFP governor said that about 45 personnel of the security forces had been killed in three days of fighting in and around Mir Ali while reported figures from “the other side” were around 100.