BANNU, May 24: The administration of the Frontier Region of Bannu district has asked the Janikhel tribe to release two kidnapped persons by Thursday evening or face action.

However, elders of the Janikhel tribe have turned down the warning and demanded that the administration should identify kidnappers instead of taking action against the entire tribe.

Sources said that some people had kidnapped Hamid Ali Shah and Zardan Shah from Bannu city about two weeks ago. The administration believed that kidnappers belonged to the Janikhel tribe.

They said that administration would take action against the tribe under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). Under the law the tribal administration has powers to impound vehicles, seal property and detain people of the respective tribe.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bannu Press Club on Wednesday, the elders of the tribe denied involvement of the people of the Janikhel tribe and said that the government had implicated the tribe for political gains.

They urged the government to properly investigate the matter and identify main accused.