Pakistan Arrests Tribal Leaders

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Pakistan arrests tribal leaders

Saturday 29 May 2004, 21:58 Makka Time, 18:58 GMT

Pakistani officials say foreign fighters face "elimination"


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Pakistan has arrested more than a dozen leaders of the key Wazir tribe for what it says is their failure to nab fighters believed to be linked to al-Qaida.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FBC43131-EAE9-46E9-82DB-AF33A7E5F0DB.htm

Officials on Saturday said they suspected fighters to be hiding in the tribal area bordering Afghanistan.

Severe economic penalties had also been imposed on the tribe, which last month formed a 1200-strong tribal force to capture the foreign fighters and avoid further military action.

"We have arrested 13 leaders of Wazir tribes because their Lashkar (tribal force) failed to arrest foreign suspects hiding in the area," local official Ismat Allah Gundapur told reporters.

The action came a week after Pakistan's top military officials warned that suspected al-Qaida-linked fighters in the South Waziristan area would have to surrender or face "elimination".