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PESHAWAR, Pakistan Pakistan's army has agreed to a cease-fire with militants holding some 260 soldiers hostage near the Afghan border, officials said Monday.
The soldiers were seized Aug. 30 in South Waziristan, a tribal region where pro-Taliban militants hold sway. Fighting between the militants and security forces there has since left scores of people dead.
Tribal leaders acting as mediators have managed to establish the cease-fire, said Arbab Arif Khan, the government official responsible for security in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt.
"They are now in session with the militants to secure the release of the hostages," Khan said. "We don't yet know what the terms would be."
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad confirmed the agreement to stop the fighting. Representatives of the militants could not immediately be reached for comment.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has sent thousands of extra troops into the border region amid signs that Taliban and al-Qaida militants are gaining strength there. The move has triggered fierce fighting.
Authorities suspect extremists based near the border of organizing a string of suicide bombings, including one that killed 16 soldiers at an army barracks last week.
Arshad said he had no confirmation of a report that two soldiers and 16 militants were killed in a clash on the boundary between North and South Waziristan early Monday.
An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly, said another five soldiers were injured in the battle at the Pusht Ziarat security post and that 10 were listed as missing.
TheStar.com | News | Pakistan ceasefire with hostage-takers
The soldiers were seized Aug. 30 in South Waziristan, a tribal region where pro-Taliban militants hold sway. Fighting between the militants and security forces there has since left scores of people dead.
Tribal leaders acting as mediators have managed to establish the cease-fire, said Arbab Arif Khan, the government official responsible for security in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt.
"They are now in session with the militants to secure the release of the hostages," Khan said. "We don't yet know what the terms would be."
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad confirmed the agreement to stop the fighting. Representatives of the militants could not immediately be reached for comment.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has sent thousands of extra troops into the border region amid signs that Taliban and al-Qaida militants are gaining strength there. The move has triggered fierce fighting.
Authorities suspect extremists based near the border of organizing a string of suicide bombings, including one that killed 16 soldiers at an army barracks last week.
Arshad said he had no confirmation of a report that two soldiers and 16 militants were killed in a clash on the boundary between North and South Waziristan early Monday.
An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly, said another five soldiers were injured in the battle at the Pusht Ziarat security post and that 10 were listed as missing.
TheStar.com | News | Pakistan ceasefire with hostage-takers
