Civilians particularly women and children are in great terror and fear. Reports reaching here said that troops blocked the main road leading to the South Waziristan Agency on Thursday in a confrontation with Al Qaeda-linked militants who operate there.

Residents of the ethnic Pashtun tribal region said tension was running high because of the blockade, which came as the new government was pursuing negotiations in an effort to end militant violence.

The blockade of the road leading to South Waziristan on the Afghan border came after fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, set up checkposts on the road to exert control over the region.

Pressure tactics: “The road is blocked to put pressure on the militants to remove the checkposts,” said an intelligence official based in the area.

Hundreds of trucks and cars were backed up along the road from the town of Tank in North West Frontier Province, residents said. The new government, led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is trying to negotiate peace through elders of the Pashtun tribes in the region.

Mehsud is accused of being behind many of the bomb attacks across the country, including the one in which PPP chairwoman Benazir Bhutto was killed in December. Mehsud announced a ceasefire last month but his men later said they were rejecting negotiations mediated by tribal elders after the government refused to withdraw troops from the tribal region. Tribal elders in Waziristan said authorities had asked them to re-establish contacts with Mehsud to revive the talks.

On Wednesday night, militants attacked a police station in the Swat Valley in the NWFP killing one policeman and wounding another. They also torched two girls’ schools in the valley.

Abductions: Also on Wednesday, the Taliban attacked a Frontier Constabulary (FC) convoy in the Bajaur Agency, kidnapping 30 FC troops along with their four vehicles and ammunition, BBC Radio reported.

It quoted Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar as saying that the Taliban had attacked the convoy because it was traversing the area without ‘seeking permission’ from the Taliban. BBC added that the Taliban later released 24 FC troops following interventions by local tribal elders however six soldiers and official vehicles were still in militants’ custody. The radio quoted Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) spokesman as saying that he knew about the attack, but did not know about the FC troops taken hostage. Local Taliban leaders said they did not want to initiate attacks against security forces even in the absence of a ceasefire agreement, BBC added.

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