Negotiated freedom: LeI releases 22 detained tribesmen

Detained members were released after negotiations between a second jirga and the LeI members.

BARA: Some 22 tribesmen detained by Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) in the Tirah valley of Khyber Agency were released on Sunday.

Detained members were released after a series of negotiations between a second jirga from Bara and the LeI members. Jirga members were detained after a group went to seek permission from the LeI commander to allow a local candidate to participate in the elections. The six Khidmat-e-Khalq Committee Sipah members were detained later, after they were sent in to negotiate the release of the 16 jirga members.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2013.