Army chief seeks tribal support

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Pakistan's army chief, in an open letter to the Mehsud tribes, asked for their support in the military's current push against militants in South Waziristan.

Copies of Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's letter were provided to reporters attending a briefing is Islamabad by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the Dawn newspaper reported.

In his letter, Kayani urged the tribes to rise jointly against their oppressors, assuring them the army's campaign was only against those who had destroyed peace in the region and not against the "valiant and patriotic" Mehsud tribes. The letter said the military was only targeting the Uzbek and other foreign elements and local militants, the report said.

"The aim of the army is to provide an opportunity to the Mehsud tribe to live in peace," the letter said, Pakistan's Daily Times reported.

The leader of the Pakistani Taliban is Hakimullah Mehsud, who took over after Baitullah Mehsud was killed in August in a suspected U.S. drone attack.