KOHAT, July 22: Talks between jirga members from Hangu and government officials will resume on Wednesday.

According to officials, the talks were put off on Tuesday after the two sides failed to achieve a consensus.

They had been called from Tirah Valley to Kohat on Monday night to help finalise the draft of a peace deal. On Tuesday, the jirga members called on Kohat’s regional coordination officer Omer Afridi and discussed the situation in Hangu and shared their views on modalities of withdrawal of troops and prisoner exchange.

The sources said that the RCO had already talked with senior provincial government officials while the jirga, headed by MPA Mufti Sayed Janan, met Taliban leaders and discussed the situation in Hangu district on Monday

Hangu SSP Mohammad Idrees told Dawn that the government had approved the setting up of two new police stations — in Mohammad Khawara and Biliamina areas.

According to him, 12 new checkposts would also be set up, of which four would be jointly manned by police, the Frontier Corps and the Frontier Constabulary. One checkpost each, he said, would be established at the Kurram Agency border in Thall at Tor Pul and along Shahu road, which connects Hangu with Orakzai Agency. The rest would be in Zargari and Doaba areas, which have been militants’ strongholds for the past three years.

He claimed the situation in Hangu was “completely normal” and people could come out of their houses even during nights without any fear, terming it a “big achievement”.

Meanwhile, security forces on Tuesday demolished the house of a Taliban commander, Safeerullah, in Doaba and blew up the militants’ headquarters in the Zargari area. Militants used the ‘base’ as a staging area for striking anywhere from Hangu city to Thall and the border areas of the Orakzai Agency. Five shops were also demolished during the operation.

The SHO of the Doaba police station, who was held hostage last month along with 70 of his colleagues by Taliban, said that a few grocery shops and drug stores opened in Doaba on Tuesday. The town has been under curfew for the past 13 days.

According to the police official, people had anticipated an operation in their area and “managed to store everything they needed beforehand”. Most of them had even sent women to stay at their relatives’ houses in Orakzai and the Jarma area in Kohat.

Most of the houses were empty, but at a few places men were present to protect their homes and belongings.

Independent reports said that a large number of people in Hangu city had complained about looting of their houses by both militants and police officials.

They said the administration should immediately halt the operation.

PROCESSION: A procession was taken out by a tribal elder, Hussain Jalali, but it could not meet the district administration because the officials had gone to attend a meeting in Kohat. They, however, met military authorities and informed them that the deafening sound of artillery barrage was affecting the sick, the elderly and pregnant women. The firing stopped soon afterwards.

According to officials, six Taliban had been killed and 60 of them had been taken as prisoners. Security forces had lost 15 personnel in Zargari. An inquiry had been ordered into the incident while security forces were trying to arrest the six men who had allegedly planned the killing.

The people in Hangu heaved a sigh of relief after the administration lifted day curfew on Tuesday.

The Kohat administration and philanthropists have set up a relief camp at Ghalla Mandi to distribute relief goods among affectees from Hangu and Orakzai Agency. Mostly people from Ghiljo, Shahu areas of Orakzai and Tora Warai area of Hangu were seen at the camp.

Despite claims made by the government for the past several days that the operation would end within two days, artillery continued pounding of Zargari, Tora Warai and Samana hills without break on Monday night and Tuesday.