MIRAMSHAH (North Waziristan), July 24: Security forces set free here on Monday 20 prisoners who had been arrested during military operation in the North Waziristan Agency.

Officials said that senior military officers handed over the prisoners to the agency’s political administrator, Dr Fakher-i-Alam, at a function and they were released in the presence of a 45-member inter-tribal jirga.

Sources said that majority of the released prisoners were local tribesmen, who had been detained under the collective and territorial responsibility clauses of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

The authorities have released 54 people since militants declared ceasefire in the troubled agency, while insurgents freed four paramilitary soldiers last week.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) Maj-Gen Azhar Shah gave away copies of the Holy Quran to the released people.

The GOC urged the jirga to ensure that security forces in the area would not be attacked and the tribesmen would desist from harbouring foreign elements to carry out activities across the border.

He said that Pakistan was passing through a crucial phase that required every citizen to fulfil their responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai and Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani discussed the ongoing peace process in the North Waziristan at a meeting held at the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Monday, said a handout.

They expressed satisfaction over the pace of progress on peace initiatives in Fata.