UPPER DIR, April 15 Militants living in Doog Darra of Upper Dir district did not leave the area on Wednesday after the expiry of deadline set for them by the administration and a jirga of local elders, sources said.

Taliban sources said that they were not ready to leave the area under pressure of elders and police rather they wanted to move out from the area once the weather improved.

Local residents said that militants had made such promise in February but they continued to live in the area against the wishes of local population. The sources, however, did not give a specific time for their withdrawal from the area.

It may be mentioned that the presence of the militants, allegedly led by Afghan nationals, has been the source of tension in the district since February. On April 1, five policemen including two senior officers were killed near Sheringal town. Militants were blamed for the attack.

The peaceful efforts of the elders for the last two months to convince militants to leave the area have not yielded positive results so far. Several deadlines were set by the elders but action was avoided each time in a bid to resolve the issue amicably.

The administration set April 13 as deadline for them to leave the area but on the request of the local elders it was extended to April 15. However, militants refused to vacate the area under supervision of local elders or police.

The trust deficit and hostility between the elders and militants, developed in February when the former forced the latter to release a former Afghan government official, were main reasons for the refusal of Taliban to leave the area.