ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: Pakistani tribal elders are holding talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan for the release of over two dozen youths kidnapped during an outing along the border, officials said on Sunday.

The tribesmen from the Bajaur tribal region were abducted by the militants on Thursday when they crossed into Afghanistan’s border province of Kunar on Eid.

“A tribal jirga from Bajaur is currently holding talks with the terrorists,” military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas said.

“The future course of action will be decided by tribal elders from both sides of the border.” Gen Abbas said in total 40 tribesmen were abducted. He said 10 were released while 30 were still in the Taliban’s custody.

Under centuries-old tribal customs, tribesmen living along the frontier can freely move across the border.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, many of whom have fled into Afghanistan in the face of military offensives in Bajaur, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping as punishment against the tribe for supporting the security forces.

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said they had a plan of mass-scale kidnappings and expected people in large numbers to visit the border region on Eid.

Sultan Zeb, a tribal elder in Bajaur, said militants loyal to Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, the top Taliban `commander’ in Bajaur who Pakistani authorities say has fled to Afghanistan, were involved in the kidnapping.

“We have established contact with the Taliban through their relatives and friends and we hope they will release the abducted people very soon. The kidnappers have not made demand for ransom or any other demand for the release,” he told Reuters.