WANA, Aug 28: Militants freed on Tuesday 18 Frontier Corps militiamen, including a senior officer, and a political tehsildar in the Sam area of the troubled South Waziristan tribal region after an assurance from the government that it would abide by the Feb 2005 peace agreement, tribal negotiators said.
Sixteen other paramilitary personnel had been kidnapped in the South Waziristan Agency on Aug 9. Later, one soldier was killed, and a video was released showing a teenage boy beheading him.
On Friday, commandant of the Bajaur Scouts Lt-Col Shahid Kiani, his three guards and a Naib Tehsildar were kidnapped.
Top negotiator MNA Maulvi Mirajuddin said that all the hostages had been released unconditionally. He, however, said the militants wanted the government to respect the Sararogha Peace agreement signed over two years ago.
“Militants want firm assurance that the government will not violate the six-point agreement again,” the MNA told Dawn by phone.
South Waziristan administrator Hussainzada Khan said the release of the militiamen was the beginning of a process and the government intended to engage the militants for lasting peace in the restive region.
“One thing is clear that (the use of) military is not the option, particularly with Pushtun tribesmen. We will have to engage these people to bring peace,” he said.
He said he would be striving to create a mechanism to verify violation of the agreement by any side.
Insiders confided that the militants set free the hostages in exchange for the release of 10 suspects who were in government custody. They also included an accused arrested at Islamabad airport on Feb 6 after a shootout in which one person was killed.
However, Mr Hussainzada said that the 10 suspects would not be released; rather the suspected militants arrested during recent operations would be set free.
Sources said other demands of the militants included abolition of bunkers and checkposts from Shin Ser, Ghut Ser and Nawaz Kot areas.
The government, on the other hand, had asked the Jirga to ensure removal of training facilities from the areas dominated by the Mahsud tribe and put an end to suicide bombings.
Officials said that Noor Syed, a close aide to militant commander Baitullah Mahsud, handed over the captives to a 35-member Jirga in Sam area on Tuesday morning.
In the first batch, they said, 15 paramilitary soldiers were brought before the Jirga and later, Lt Col Shahid Kiani, three paramilitary soldiers and political Naib Tehsildar Hameedullah were released.
Each captive was given cloth for shalwar kameez and Pakol (traditional cap) as a goodwill gesture.
“All the captives were in good health,” MNA Mirajuddin said. The released hostages, accompanied by the Jirga members, were brought to the office of the Political Agent in Wana Hussainzada Khan.
However, a tribal elder said that Lt Col Kiani complained to the Jirga about maltreatment by the militants. “We know about the traditional hospitality of the tribesmen, but their (militants) behaviour was wrong,” the elder quoted the officer as saying.
The government had signed a six-point agreement with Baitullah Mahsud binding the administration to grant amnesty to the militant commander and his supporters.
According to the agreement, Baitullah pledged not to protect and help foreign militants, not to attack government officials and installations and refrain from opposing development projects in the area.
The sources said that the 35-member Jirga would meet in Wana on Saturday in which new terms and conditions would be formulated to make the Sararogha agreement workable. The sources said the militants also wanted removal of some checkposts from the area dominated by the Mahsud tribe in the South Waziristan Agency.