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| Army rules out fresh operation in North Waziristan |
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Wednesday, October 08, 2008
By Mushtaq Yusufzai & Malik Mumtaz
PESHAWAR/MIRAMSHAH: Dispelling rumours about a fresh military operation in the North Waziristan Agency (NWA), a senior Army official on Tuesday said the military had no such intention and would rather abide by the peace accord signed with Utmanzai Wazir tribe on February 17 this year.
Also, the US spy planes, as usual, continued flying over both South and North Waziristan agencies on Tuesday, creating panic among the tribesmen and forcing them to spend nights outside their homes.
North Waziristan has been gripped by rumours for the past several days that the government was planning another round of military operation from Oct 10 against the tribal militants led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Some of the frightened tribesmen were even reported to have abandoned their homes and shifted their families to the adjoining Bannu district and Peshawar to escape losses in case the military launched the operation.
The political authorities and military commanders based in the area have also realised the widening gap between the Utmanzai tribal militants and the government after the continuous US air strikes on various villages in the NWA.
In a bid to reduce the escalating tension between the military and tribesmen, the Army in-charge in Mirali, Brig Khushnood Iqbal Kayani, called a meeting of prominent tribal chieftains and religious scholars and assured them that the military had no intention of launching a military operation in the agency.
Tribal elders, including Malik Alamzeb, Malik Rahmatullah, Malik Dil Nawaz, Malik Islamuddin, Malik Zaid Ahmad Khan, Malik Shadim, Malik Zarif, attended the meeting, wherein Assistant Political Agent Mirali subdivision Asmatullah Wazir was also present.
Brig Khushnood Iqbal Kayani assured elders and religious scholars that there was no truth in such rumours. He said the people should not take these rumours seriously and instead play their role in strengthening the hands of the government against a handful of miscreants involved in anti-state activities and attacks on security forces and government installations.
The military officer assured the Jirga members that the Pakistani security agencies would protect their lives and properties at all costs. He made it clear that the government would abide by its peace agreement, which it had signed with Utmanzai tribesmen on February 17.
Meanwhile, two US spy planes continued hovering over South and North Waziristan agencies. In Tolkhel and Tabay village of the NWA, tribesmen fired at the US drones but could not succeed in shooting them down.
Similarly, in the adjoining South Waziristan, tribal militants fired at two US spy planes, forcing the planes to disappear for some time but they again appeared and were seen flying over other villages like Karikot, Dabkot, Azam Warsak and Angoor Adda.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
