Pak tribal militants hold talks to broker peace deal

The 45-member "grand jirga" or council including tribal elders, local legislators and Islamic scholars gathered in Miranshah, the capital of restive North Waziristan region.

Hundreds of people have died in recent clashes between security forces and fundamentalist Islamic rebels in the semi-autonomous tribal zone, but the insurgents launched a unilateral ceasefire there last month.

The government and the tribesmen say they are trying to find a political solution in accordance with tribal customs and traditions, instead of dealing with the problem through military means.

"We are passing through a very difficult and delicate phase of our history," Lieutenant General Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai, the governor of North West Frontier Province, which borders the tribal region, told jirga members on Thursday.

"The current situation demands that we must take every step with caution and a deep sense of commitment and responsibility".

On the eve of the council meeting, the authorities as a "goodwill gesture" released 32 tribesmen and also removed six check posts from bazaars in Miranshah and the nearby town of Mir Ali, local official Fakhre Alam said.