Pakistan has released 78 Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen arrested during a recent counterterrorism operation near the Afghan border, and has extended a deadline for suspected fugitives to surrender.
Local official Hamayun Khan said the 78 men had been freed on Saturday by the army in the northwestern city of Peshawar after investigators declared them innocent, allowing them to return to their homes in South Waziristan.
PHOTO: AP
In all, 141 of the 163 Pakistani and foreign suspects captured during the March 16 to March18 operation have been released. It was Pakistan's biggest offensive since it joined the US-led war on terrorism in late 2001. The operation, which left more than 120 people dead, ended when tribal elders sought time to negotiate a deal between militants and the army.
A week ago, five powerful tribesmen accused of harboring al-Qaeda men accepted an amnesty offer, promising to live peacefully and not help foreign terrorists.
As part of the deal, the army promised to release all prisoners proved innocent. It has not identified any of the detainees, but none are believed to be senior al-Qaeda or Taliban figures.
The regional army chief set last Friday as a deadline for the hundreds of foreign militants who'd escaped arrest to surrender, saying that if they pledged to stay out of trouble, and were vouched for by the local tribe, they'd be allowed to stay in South Waziristan.
The interior minister has said the amnesty is open to all foreigners there -- except Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.
By Friday, no foreigners had come forward, raising fears of renewed bloodshed. On Saturday, however, army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said authorities had agreed to a weeklong extension in the amnesty offer. He said local tribal elders had approached the government, seeking more time to convince foreigners to lay down arms and register themselves with the authorities.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
RSS