Nearly 80 militants from Pakistan’s North Waziristan region surrendered to government forces on Friday in a rare move that follows a dip in Taliban violence in Pakistan, sources involved in the deal said.
Tribal leaders, who asked not to be quoted by name to avoid reprisals, expressed cautious hope that other more senior leaders from the heavily factionalized insurgency might follow the men.
The men came from a militia led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a powerful leader in North Waziristan, who has links to the Haqqani network, the most high-profile threat to US forces in Afghanistan.
Their surrender was confirmed by a Pakistani security official and three tribal sources involved in negotiating the deal.
Bahadur has traditionally fought Afghan and NATO forces across the nearby Afghan border rather than Pakistani troops. His deputy Halim Khan was reportedly involved in the negotiations.
The surrender follows a dip in overall Taliban violence in Pakistan, partly caused by an anti-Taliban military offensive in North Waziristan launched in June 2014.
However, Islamabad-based FATA Research Center executive director Saifullah Mahsud cautioned against overplaying the significance of any surrender or any hope that it might weaken the Haqqani Network, which the US government has said has ties to elements in the Pakistani security forces.
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