Pakistan has begun shifting troops from parts of the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border in an effort to make peace with a militant commander allied to Al-Qaeda, officials said on Wednesday. The new government has been trying to make peace with Baituallah Mehsud, who leads the Taleban in Pakistan, through ethnic Pashtun tribal elders since it took power last month after the country suffered its bloodiest ever phase of attacks. But the peace bid has raised questions, especially among Pakistan's Western allies with troops in Afghanistan who say similar deals in the past merely gave the militants a free hand to regroup and plot violence in Afghanistan and beyond. The latest talks stalled late last month after the government rejected a militant demand for troops to get out of the region which has long been regarded as a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and the Taleban. But a senior government official said on Wednesday troops were being “thinned out” in at least two parts of South Waziristan to pave the way for an agreement. “The troops have started thinning out from the Kotkay and Spinkai Raghzai areas,” said the official based in the northwest who declined to be identified. “We hope to formalise the agreement in two or three days.” The military said troop positions were being adjusted and the government would decide on whether to pull troops out of South Waziristan, depending on the outcome of the negotiations. “The army has decided to readjust present positions and open various roads ... for the return of the civil population,” a military spokesman said. An intelligence official said 31 militants were freed from various detention centres in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday as part of the pact and another security official said a “verbal agreement” had already reached between the two sides.
