MIRAMSHAH, April 10: : A tribal jirga on Monday offered talks with the government to end a stand off between tribesmen and security forces, rejected an official ban on carrying weapons and urged Islamabad to withdraw troops from the tribal areas.

The jirga’s proceedings were punctuated by chants of ‘Long live Islam’, ‘Long live jihad’ and “Down with USA”.

The offer of talks with President Pervez Musharraf’s government was delivered through a letter read to the jirga by a pro-Taliban cleric.

“We are ready to negotiate with Musharraf whenever he wants,” said Maulvi Abdul Rehman, reading from the letter.

The offer of talks was made on the condition that leader of the opposition Maulana Fazalur Rehman and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani were involved.

Most of the tribesmen attending the jirga bore arms in defiance of a recent ban by the authorities. Pashtun tribes regard carrying weapons as part of their cultural identity.

The letter also contained a threat to tribesmen who failed to strictly observe the militants’ interpretation of Islamic laws.

“If they live according to Shariah (Islamic law), it is fine but if they ignore it, they will be responsible for any sort of action by us,” it said.

The jirga, which was participated by some 8,000 tribesmen, “resolved not to accept a ban on carrying weapons as it is part of the tribal traditions,” Maulvi Abdul Rehman said.

Many tribesmen, he said, had local rivalries and enmities and they considered displaying weapons “necessary for their safety and protection”.

The tribal council also demanded the pullout of troops from checkpoints in tribal towns and in bazaars, saying clashes could occur because of a lack of understanding of local traditions.

The resolution adopted by the tribesmen said: “The army should be confined at the border to check infiltration of trouble-makers from Afghanistan.”

The council denied the presence of foreigners — Taliban or Al Qaeda fugitives — in the tribal area, saying: “We never offer asylum to foreigners on our soil.”

It also called for the authorities to notify tribal elders before launching any military operations and urged them to avoid targeting towns and villages without “foolproof” intelligence.

The tribesmen assured the administration that in case of fulfilling their demands, they would help the authorities in the search for foreigners and other militants.—Reuters/AFP

Our Correspondent adds: Gunmen ambushed a water tanker on Monday and killed the driver and a civilian contractor in the North Waziristan Agency.

The attack occurred near the Nawab camp as the tanker was on its way from border town of Ghulam Khan to the agency headquarters Miramshah.

One of the victims belonged to the Khyber Agency while the other was from the Nowshera district but their names could not be ascertained.