Pakistan News And Discussion-11

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Pakistan in talks to save peace deal </b>ISLAMABAD, July 16 (AFP) –Pakistani authorities held crisis talks with tribal elders Monday to save a peace deal with pro-Taliban militants, as thousands of people fled the tense tribal region of North Waziristan, a day after the locals scrapped the peace accord they had struck last year with the government. A government representative met elders in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, “to find out the status of the pact after the reported statement by Taliban commanders that they are scrapping it,” a government official told AFP.. The talks also dealt with complaints by tribesmen that troops have taken up positions at checkpoints which were abandoned under the deal, and about unpaid compensation for previous military operations, local sources said. Bazaars were deserted on Monday as hundreds of families fled Miranshah for safer areas, and state-run Radio Pakistan went off the air when broadcasters joined other government officials in leaving the area, local residents said. Troops also stepped up security around the town's fort. Meanwhile the chief minister of North West Frontier Province, Akram Durrani, on Monday summoned a meeting of key clerics, tribal elders and lawmakers to discuss the security situation, his spokesman told AFP.  <b>Link</b>(Posted @ 17:24 PST)<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->