Army and militants agree cease-fire
Pakistan’s army has agreed to a cease-fire with militants holding some 260 soldiers hostage near the Afghan border, officials said today.
The soldiers were seized on August 30 in South Waziristan, a tribal region where pro-Taliban militants hold sway.
Fighting between the militants and security forces there has since left scores of people dead.
Tribal leaders acting as mediators have managed to establish the cease-fire, said Arbab Arif Khan, the government official responsible for security in Pakistan’s troubled tribal belt.
Army spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad confirmed the agreement to stop the fighting.
Representatives of the militants could not immediately be reached for comment.
Arshad said he had no confirmation of a report that two soldiers and 16 militants were killed in a clash on the boundary between North and South Waziristan this morning.
An intelligence official said another five soldiers were injured in the battle at the Pusht Ziarat security post and that 10 were listed as missing.
