Free Republic

Politicians try to contain frontier violence By Peter Foster in Islamabad (Filed: 20/03/2004) Pakistan's politicians in the country's wild tribal lands have called a council meeting today in an attempt to contain the violence and protect civilians. Pakistani tribesmen gather to discuss the situation in Wana The attempt at talks suggests that the government offensive against tribal fighters and al-Qa'eda militants is placing the tribes under huge pressure after four days of large-scale military operations. In Peshawar, the provincial capital of the North-West Frontier Province, tribal politicians yesterday demanded that the government troops call a halt to the offensive.In Wana,...