July 09, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 5, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, July 8: Paramilitary forces suffered their first casualty during the Khyber Agency operation when militants killed four soldiers of Chitral Scouts in an ambush on Tuesday near a graveyard in Akakhel. Three soldiers were injured.

According to officials, the security personnel were going to Fort Meelwat from Fort Salope when they were attacked. One soldier was killed on the spot and six others were injured.

Three of them died in hospital. The assailants escaped to the adjacent Darra Adamkhel region.

Meanwhile, sources said that of outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam chief Mangal Bagh had refused to authorise a jirga to take any decision on his behalf or accept that its decision would be binding on him. Endorsing a jirga decision, or authorising jirga members to take decisions binding on all sides is the primary condition of the traditional mechanism for arbitration.

A tribal jirga returned on Tuesday after holding two rounds of talks with the extremist leader in Tirah Valley. Its members are expected to submit a report to the political authorities on Wednesday.

The sources said the Lashkar chief had verbally assured the jirga that his men would not resist the operation in the Khyber region, and had also guaranteed to cooperate with the administration in maintaining law and order.

The government had set three conditions for the Lashkar men to meet in exchange for halting the operation. The conditions are: renouncing militancy, accepting the government’s writ and surrendering of the 16-member Shura of the organisation.

The Lashkar had also presented its own conditions for holding talks with the jirga –withdrawal of forces from Bara, halting the operation and re-opening roads and bazaars.

JUI-F DELEGATION: A three-member delegation of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F reached the Tirah Valley on Tuesday to broker a ceasefire between the Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansarul Islam.

The delegation is led by Mufti Mohammad Ejaz.

Scores of people have been killed in clashes between the two militant outfits over the past two weeks.

Maulana Shujaual Mulk of the JUI-F told journalists in Peshawar that his party would try to persuade the combatants to agree to a truce in Tirah.

He said that the JUI would organise a grand jirga in Hangu on July 13.