WANA, May 7: Tribesmen on Friday sought a further one-week extension in the deadline to resolve the ticklish issue of registration of foreign militants hiding in the volatile tribal region, official sources said.
The request for extension has come following the expiry on Friday of an extended deadline given to foreign militants to get themselves registered and avail the amnesty offer by the government.
"We have reiterated our pledge to abide by the April 24 Shakai agreement. There were problems on both sides but we are trying to work them out and after consultation both sides have agreed that more time is needed to resolve issues," 27-year-old tribal militant Nek Mohammad told Dawn in the evening.
The latest extension, if granted, would become 13th such instance since October last. There was an atmosphere of bonhomie on both sides raising hopes of an agreement on the most contentious issue of foreign militants.
Nek Mohammad, whose 'mujahideen' had fought pitched battles with troops in March in Kaloosha, drove Commandant of the Frontier Corps Colonel Khalid Khan Khattak to the Zari Noor military base.
Political Agent, South Waziristan, Asmatullah Gandapur, drove with another tribal militant, Maulavi Abbas. The militants, the two tribal parliamentarians, senior military and administration officials were seen exchanging pleasantries at the lawns of the military base, nearly 8km to the west of the regional headquarters.
The talks spanned over three sessions. The first was held at Wana Scouts Camp. The participants later drove to the Zari Noor military brigade headquarters for a second round of talks that lasted until about 5pm.
It was followed by a meeting between Nek Mohammad and Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain, who had flown to the region in the afternoon in an attempt to break the deadlock over the issue that has dragged now for two weeks following the April 24 'rapprochement' with militants.
The meeting was still in session till the filing of this report at 12.30am. Nek Mohammad, who was one of the five tribal militants pardoned by the government on April 24, told newsmen that there were problems in the talks but said that most of them had been resolved.
"Both sides are honouring the agreement. It is taking us time (to resolve the issue) because there were difficulties on both sides," he said. Political administrator later told Dawn he was satisfied with the negotiations and thought that the deadline could be extend by another week to resolve the issue peacefully.
Officials said that foreign militants were sensitive to being photographed for registration purposes. The foreign militants, the officials said, were also reluctant to give details about their antecedents, fearing harassment and persecution of their families back home.
The government, the officials said, had assured them that their antecedents would not be disclosed and would be treated as top secret. The officials said that they had made it clear to the militants that the government was in no mood to grant further concessions and the only option before them was to get themselves registered.
The government has also assured foreign militants that their antecedents would not be published in the press nor would they be shown to the media to avoid the risk of exposure.
Despite the continuing talks, however, no foreign militant came forward to get himself registered with the authorities on the last day of the deadline despite earlier optimism by the authorities that about 50 to 60 foreign militants, mainly Chechens, who had married locally and had been living in the region for quite some time and had given up fighting would register themselves.