TIMERGARA, Nov 17: Taking strong note of the reopening of the only road linking Lower Dir to Swat via Toor Mang Darra, police called a meeting of Sultankhel tribe elders on Monday and conveyed to them government’s reservation about the new development.

The elders were told that the move would lead to penetration of militants from the volatile Swat region to the Dir district, which might vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the region.

The road had been blocked jointly by the Sultankhel tribe and security forces after the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers on Aug 31. The Sultankhel tribal elders had agreed to close the road for every kind of traffic at that time, sources said.

They said the road had been reopened and militants had been using it for their activities for one week. The meeting of the Sultankhel tribal elders convened by the Lower Dir police at the Khall police station on Monday was attended by more than 110 elders of the area, said SHO Khall Naeem Khan.

Prominent among the participants were former provincial minister Malik Jehan Zeb, Malik Mohammad Zeb, Malik Qadar Jan, Malik Usman, Malik Dawa Khan, Malik Muhib Nawab, Mohammad Lateef, Gul Yaqoub and Malik Taliman Syed. Timergara Circle headquarters’ deputy superintendent of police Khan Raziq and SHO Khall Naeem represented police.

The police officers informed the jirga about the recent development and told them that some elements had been trying to create lawlessness in the area and pave the way for a military operation.

The jirga decided to close the Toor Mang-Swat road again by its own, participants of the jirga told Dawn. They said the jirga had assured law-enforcement agencies of full cooperation and vowed to counter terrorism by its own.

They said the jirga was neither in favour of the Taliban nor security forces as, according to them, both were equally responsible for the unrest and terror in the area, the sources said.

The jirga decided that strict action would be taken against local people who were found sheltering militants in the area.