Pakistan presses tribesmen to expel al-Qaeda rebels
Afp, Miranshah
Pakistani authorities yesterday issued a fresh appeal to tribesmen in a rugged region bordering Afghanistan to expel Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels and their supporters. The call came as President Pervez Musharraf faces continued pressure from his US and Western allies about militancy in the impoverished tribal belt and peace deals between the government and the rebels. Local administrator Pirzada Khan told 500 tribesmen and Islamic clerics in North Waziristan that he was bringing a message direct from Musharraf and the governor of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. "Pakistan is under tremendous pressure from foreign countries over militant activity," Khan told the jirga, or tribal assembly, in Miranshah, the main town in the district. Amid allegations that there were foreign militants and training camps in Waziristan, Khan said that "to find a solution we shall have to expel those who are not with the nation."
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