PESHAWAR, May 20: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik on Tuesday ruled out withdrawal of troops from South Waziristan and other parts of Fata till the government’s writ was established in the region.

Addressing two separate jirgas at the Governor’s House, Mr Malik said the government had decided to hold talks with tribal elders and not with terrorists and extremists.

“The government knows that our neighbours are creating problems in Fata, but I will not mention their names,” he said.

Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani and senior officials were present on the occasion.

A jirga of the Mehsud tribe had been convened to discuss the South Waziristan situation which was followed by a joint jirga of elders from Fata.

Elders of the Mehsud tribe presented a list of demands, including release of prisoners, reopening of roads in areas affected by the military operation, rehabilitation of displaced families, payment of compensation to affected families and re-allocation of funds for the annual development programme meant for Mehsud-dominated areas.

An elder of the tribe told Dawn that they had urged the adviser to lift the blockade of the area and provide tents and relief goods to the displaced families.

He said that over 200 houses had been demolished during the recent military operation.

The elder said he was not aware about any peace deal between the government and militant commander Baitullah Mehsud. “Elders are playing no role in peace talks between the army and Baitullah. We don’t know about the modalities of the agreement,” he said.A majority of jirga members asked the government to extend the Political Parties Act to Fata and make amendments to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

They also complained about the misuse of development funds and proposed curtailing of powers of the political agents.

Mr Malik assured the elders that roads in South Waziristan and others parts of Fata would be reopened and displaced families would be helped to go back to their homes.

He said the government would announce a compensation package for the affected families and they would be provided with tents and ration.

He said the families who had lost their homes during the military operation would get China-made pre-fabricated houses.

Later, talking to journalists Mr Malik said the government would sign peace agreements with tribes and not with militants and extremist groups.

“Don’t consider army as a third party. Troops have been sent there to restore order and they will be there till the local administration completely restores the order,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said the NWFP government did not take the federal government into confidence before striking a deal with the Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM) in Malakand.

“We have asked our coalition partners to take on board the federal government in future,” he said. Denying reports of prisoners’ swap with militants, he said that the people arrested under the FCR had been released.

He said the government would release all innocent people who had been detained under the collective responsibility clause of the FCR.