Taliban retake control of region

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 1 (UPI) -- The Taliban reportedly has regained control of Pakistan's Darra Adamkhel region and resumed its activities despite the presence of security forces.

The region is in the North-West Frontier province near the border with Afghanistan, where violence has escalated with the regrouping of the Taliban.

The Taliban retook the region after an impasse in the talks between provincial government officials and tribal elders to guarantee safety of the Indus Highway, Dawn reported.

The development comes despite the new Pakistani coalition government's policy to end violence in its tribal areas by engaging the militants.

The Taliban Monday captured a military pick-up carrying two army engineering corps employees in the region, the report said. The abductees were later released but the militants kept the vehicle.

The government had been asking the Sheraki tribe under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations law to hand over the militants.

The Dawn report said the militants have resumed searching vehicles and commuters on the Indus Highway. They are also collecting a "tax" for each truck leaving the nearby coal mine.

A police official told Dawn the problem can be resolved only if tribal elders cooperate by identifying militants hiding in the area.