Tribesmen to raise Lashkar to hunt al Qaeda men

Members of a major tribe vowed on Monday to raise a Lashkar to hunt al Qaeda terrorists near the Afghan border after local allies of the foreign fighters refused to hand them in.
The decision by the Jirga of Wazir tribesmen came after a deadline by the authorities for the foreigners to surrender was reached on Monday.
"We are raising this Lashkar to drive foreigners out of our territory," tribal elder Malik Gul Zaman told Reuters after the assembly.
He said the assembly would meet again on Tuesday to decide when to launch the hunt in the South Waziristan tribal region, where hundreds of al Qaeda terrorists, including Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, are believed to be hiding.
Almost half a million members Wazir tribesmen live in South Waziristan.
Authorities and tribal elders have been pressing the renegade tribesmen for two weeks to persuade the foreigners to lay down their arms and get themselves registered.
But Nek Mohammad, the leader of the pro-al Qaeda tribesmen, told the assembly that registration of foreigners was not part of the deal he cut with authorities last month.
The government has said it may have to revert to force to hunt down foreign fighters if they failed to give themselves up.
"The agreement still holds," said Mahmood Shah, security chief of the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. "But Nek Mohammad has to decide whether he stands by the government or the foreign militants."
The government has said it will offer amnesties to all but 25 foreign fighters if they give themselves up. The list of 25 fighters not covered by the amnesty includes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Meanwhile, Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan Agency has once again announced full support in favour of Shakai declaration and vowed to implement it in letter and spirit.
The announcement was made at a loya jirga of Mehsud tribe held at Political Katchery Tank on Monday.
MNA Maulana Mairajuddin, Malik Inayatullah, Malik Masood Abdulai, Malik Nekam Khan, Malik Pir Minjajuddin Shah, Muhammad Yusaf, Maulana Saleh Shah, Malik Rapa Khan and President of Amn (peace) Committee Gulsaa Khan attended the loya jirga.
The tribal elders in their speeches announced that they would not allow anybody to use their soil for terrorist activities.
"We accept the commitment made under the Shakai declaration", they said.