October 06, 2008	Monday	Shawwal 06, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, Oct 5: The jirga constituted for the recovery of a missing subedar of Mehsud Scouts failed to make any headway due to the non-cooperative attitude of leaders of Lashkar-i-Islam, sources said.

Subedar Dawlat Khan was abducted at gunpoint from Bara on Friday allegedly by armed activists of Lashkar-i-Islam. Bara political administration had constituted a jirga of local elders to help in recovery of Subedar Dawlat Khan from the Lashkar men.

Sources said that instead of releasing the abducted official, Lashkar-i-Islam leaders demanded the release of 11 activists of their organisation and handing them over of 16 rifles and three vehicles impounded by the administration a month ago. They also insisted that the missing subedar was not in their custody.

The local administration had earlier set a deadline of Sunday for the recovery of the abducted FC official. The jirga members demanded some more time for negotiations with Lashkar-i-Islam.

Sources however, said that LI leaders assured the administration of their help in tracing the missing official on the condition that the administration release their activists and hand them over their rifles and vehicles. It was also learnt that LI chief Mangal Bagh moved out of Bara to avoid any action by the administration against him.