LANDI KOTAL, Nov 27: Authorities in the Khyber Agency detained 17 tribesmen at the Torkham border checkpost on Monday for trying to go to Afghanistan without permission.

It is learnt that elders from Bara tehsil were proceeding to Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, to attend a grand tribal jirga organised by the Afghan government.

The jirga is discussing the situation in the Pakistani tribal region. A group of elders from the Bazaar area of Khyber Agency has already reached Jalalabad.

Officials said that the tribal elders were trying to cross the border through an unfrequented route when security forces stopped them. They were taken to the Landi Kotal jail.