By Amena Khokhar, KUNA,
Islamabad : Pakistani Government will be swapping prisoners with local Taliban militants in South Waziristan tribal agency, bordering Afghanistan, later Wednesday ahead of a peace deal.
About 55 militants, arrested in several terrorist cases, were flown to Wana, the main headquarters of South Waziristan agency, Tuesday night by helicopter, security sources told KUNA.
The sources said they will be handed over to the militants in exchange for at least 20 persons the militants had held in last few months. They added that 20 persons held by militants also included military men.
The prisoners swap is part of peace deal between the government and militants to bring normalcy in the volatile tribal region of Pakistan. Sources said further that after exchange of prisoners, the military will start withdrawing from several tribal areas, mostly belonging to Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan agency.
However, the military spokesman Ather Abbass Tuesday in a statement said that the pulling out of troops from South Waziristan will be the decision of the government depending upon the outcome of negotiations between the government officials and tribes.
To facilitate the return of displaced personnel, Army has decided to readjust present positions and open various roads linking to different villages and townships in the area for return of the civil population, the spokesman said.
The government has launched peace talks with the local Taliban militants. US-opposed talks last month hit snags when militant commander, Baitullah Mehsud, announced end of negotiations saying the government has not withdrawn troops from the region as being agreed earlier.