November 09, 2008	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 10, 1429

TIMERGARA, Nov 8: Local Taliban have arrested three alleged car-lifters and recovered a stolen car from their possession, sources and residents said.

They said the Taliban raided the houses of alleged criminals and took them away at gunpoint on Friday night. The abducted persons were identified as Ikram, resident of Pari Kas, Batal Khan and Majeed, residents of Tangar village of Maidan tehsil.

Sources said the Taliban had warned that they would take action against outlaws and would eliminate them from the area.

Meanwhile, officials at the Lal Qilla police station expressed ignorance about the incident and said no one had so far approached them for registration of any case.

PEACE JIRGA: The Adenzai peace jirga on Saturday demanded of the military authorities and the government to stop shelling from Chakdara on militants’ positions in Swat, sources privy to the jirga told Dawn.

The security forces on Friday night started firing and shelling by using artillery and heavy weapons from Chakdara targeting some areas in Swat that spread fear and unrest among the locals of Adenzai.

The Adenzai jirga, headed by its chief and former provincial minister Bakht Baidar Khan, was attended by nearly 200 notables including local political and religious leaders and elders.

The jirga condemned the security forces for reneging on their promise not to open fire from the area.

The participants expressed fear that in the event of retaliation from the Swat Taliban the residents of Adenzai would suffer. They said they had extended full cooperation to the law-enforcement agencies on the condition that the soil of Adenzai would not be used by either side.

The jirga decided to raise the issue with the authorities to convince them to end the shelling otherwise the people would be called to come onto the roads against the military action. A committee was formed on the occasion to hold talks with the military authorities and to inform the public of the outcome.

MAN SHOT DEAD: A man was axed to death in Hayaserai village in the jurisdiction of the Balambat police station on Saturday, residents and police said.

They said a scuffle between the children led to the murder of Abdul Hassan. The accused escaped from the scene while the Balambat police registered a case and started investigation.