Suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in the tribal belt have issued death threats to 28 tribal elders, prayer leaders and social workers accused of spying for the government. Photocopies of a note hand-written in Pashtu were circulated in this village in the North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan by unidentified people late Sunday, residents said.
It listed the names of 28 people and warns them to get ready to die. Three of them have already survived attempts on their lives.
"These people are spying for government and informing it about the activities of Mujahideen," said the unsigned note, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
"These people are friends of Jews and Christians, they are also friends of Pervez Musharraf," it said.
One of those named, a prayer leader, said he was not afraid.
"I have been receiving such threats and in the past they (extremists) had sent me money for my 'kafan'," Maulvi Janat Mir told AFP.
"We are not afraid of such threats and life and death is in the hands of Allah, however, we have stepped up our security," he said.