Four beheaded bodies of Tribal elders found

The beheaded bodies of four out of the seven kidnapped tribal elders in Bajaur were found from Tangi Khawar on Friday, while the other three elders were still missing.

The seven tribal elders, who had raised an armed Lashkar against the militants in Charmang area, were abducted from Sharif Khana last Thursday. The tribesmen on Friday found four beheaded bodies of the elders in Tangi Khawar.

The tribesmen later brought the bodies to the Tangi bazaar where a large number of people gathered to have a sight of the deceased. Passions were running high in the area as the local tribesmen strongly condemned the brutal killings of their elders.

The slain tribal elders included Mam Gul Sheikh, Malik Dashan and Jamaldar. The identity of the fourth victim could not be ascertained. Sources said one of the three missing persons was the son of the slain elder Mam Gul Sheikh. There was no word on the fate of the three missing tribal elders and concerns were growing about their safety.

Undeterred by the kidnapping and killing of tribal elders from Charmang, the Mamond tribal Lashkar demolished several houses of militants and their associates in Omray area here on Friday.

Following the activities of the tribal Lashkar, the grand Jirga of the Mamond tribal elders decided to continue and extend its assault against the militants to other parts of the Mamond Tehsil.

Encouraged by the restoration of peace and re-establishment of the writ of the government in Barang, Salarzai and Utmankhel Tehsils of the volatile Bajaur Agency, the political administration has announced to reopen the schools in these areas from today (Saturday). Tribesmen welcomed the decision of the political administration to reopen the schools and reiterated their pledge to assist the security forces in maintaining law and order in their respective areas.

Talking to reporters, Shafeerullah Khan, political agent of the Bajaur Agency, said the tribesmen were cooperating with the political administration and the overall situation in these areas was satisfactory. Peace had been restored to Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur, and life was gradually becoming normal with the reopening of the government offices, banks and post offices.