October 25, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 12, 1428

GHALANAI, Oct 24: A 60-member tribal jirga launched a fresh round of talks with militants soon after it was constituted on Wednesday to restore peace in the Mohmand Agency, tribal elders and witnesses said.

The jirga comprising 10 members each from six tribes — namely, Khwoezai, Haleemzai, Baizai, Tarakzai, Safi and Uthmankhel — proceeded to meet representatives of the militants at an unspecified location between Haleemzai tehsil and Khwoezai tehsil.

The jirga will submit a report to the political adminis-

tration on the outcome of the talks.

Sources said the jirga was formed during a meeting of around 1,000 tribal elders held in the Bhaidaag area. The elders had sought four days from the administration after a meeting was held in the agency headquarters last week to come up with suggestions to restore peace in the tribal agency.

Prominent among the new jirga members are ex-MNA Malik Fazle Mannan, Haji Ashraf Khwoezai and Malik Kachkol Khan.

Soon after its formation, the jirga members proceeded to a place between Haleemzai and Khwoezai tehsils to meet militant commanders. The talks are expected to continue for several days, sources said.

In another development, Taliban supporters removed music cassettes and players from vehicles in the Pandialai tehsil area.

Sources said that the female workers of the health department in different parts of the Mohmand Agency had received threatening letters, asking them to observe strict purdah, or they would get harmed.