Tribesmen hand over al Qaeda sympathisers

Tribesmen in South Waziristan have handed over dozens of people suspected of sheltering al Qaeda remnants, a government official said on Monday.
Threatened by the prospect of a large-scale military offensive to seize the suspects, tribal elders bowed to pressure and presented authorities with the al Qaeda sympathisers.
"About 60 percent of those linked to al Qaeda or working as facilitators have been handed over to the local authorities," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The official did not say how many suspects had been detained but security sources earlier said authorities were looking for some 90 people accused of offering shelter to al Qaeda and Taleban fugitives.
The tribal elders handed over the accused over the past few days following a February 20 deadline set by the government last week.
The government earlier deployed thousands of troops for an operation into the area if tribal elders failed to hand over the suspects and those protecting them.
However, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid told AFP on Monday that "no offensive has been launched so far."
"Troops have been deployed in the area to plug the entry of undesired elements," Rashid said.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri also rejected suggestions that the concentration of troops was linked to a report in London's Sunday Express that Osama had been "cornered" in an area near Quetta in Balochistan province.
The deployment in South Waziristan "has nothing to do" with the British paper's report, he told reporters on Monday, pointing out that the tribal belt was in a different location.
"This (deployment) is not first of its kind. We have been involved in this type of activity for more than three years now," he said.
However, Kasuri indicated that Pakistan would hand over Osama to the United States if he were caught on its soil.
He said that an amnesty offered by President Pervez Musharraf, where foreigners surrendering in Pakistan will not be handed over to any power, would not apply to Osama bin Laden.
If "somebody had committed a crime against the United States that is a separate issue", he said.