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Pashtun tribal elders vow to protect vital Khyber Pass
Ethnic Pashtun tribal elders in Pakistan have promised to ensure security for supplies trucked through the Khyber Pass bound for foreign forces in Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:15 September 2, 2008
Landikotal: Ethnic Pashtun tribal elders in Pakistan have promised to ensure security for supplies trucked through the Khyber Pass bound for foreign forces in Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday.
The Khyber Pass is a vital route for supplies for US and other foreign forces in landlocked Afghanistan and militants have attacked trucks and tankers carrying equipment and fuel.
According to transport companies, more than 20 trucks and a dozen oil-tankers have been attacked in the region since June and some drivers have been kidnapped and killed. Tahab Khan, a senior government official in the Khyber region, said elders had signed an agreement with authorities on Monday to ensure the safety of supplies.
"They will not only be responsible for security but also take strict action against violators," Khan said.
Elders traditionally wield power in Pashtun society, although militants have killed several hundred of them since Pakistan joined the US-led campaign against terrorism and tried to root out foreign Al Qaida militants and subdue their Pakistani allies.
The Khyber Pass is one of two land routes for supplies going to Afghanistan from Pakistan and its main port of Karachi. The other border crossing is at the southwestern town of Chaman.
Security forces conducted an offensive in the Khyber region at the end of June to push militants back from the outskirts of the main northwestern city of Peshawar.
Later, the military went on the offensive in two other regions, Bajaur, which is also on the Afghan border to the north of Khyber, and the Swat Valley, in North West Frontier Province.
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