Nearly 300 tribesmen with family members of kidnapped officials attended. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
A day after a deadline was set by the political administration of Frontier Region Peshawar, tribal elders formed a committee of relatives of the 23 kidnapped levies personnel to work on their return.
The decision was taken at a jirga of the Hassan Khel and Jina Kor tribes. “[It] was attended by nearly 300 elders who decided that concerted efforts would be made,” a member of the jirga, who wished not to be named, told The Express Tribune.
“Our people have been killed and are taken hostage by militants, while the administration holds us responsible,” he argued, referring to the collective responsibility that the tribes are responsible for under the Frontier Crimes Regulation. The families backed by the tribes were hopeful that the men would be found.
On December 27, militants attacked three levies checkposts in Koi Hassan Khel, killing two officials and kidnapping another 23. In a jirga, the political authorities set Monday as a deadline for their recovery.
Security forces also arrested more than two dozen suspects during a door-to-door search conducted in the Samdi Khel area of Kandao Asho Khel on Saturday.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2012.
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