Register or..: Pak warns extremists

Suspected foreign militants hiding in South Waziristan near the Afghanistan border will start registering with local authorities this week as part of an amnesty offer which requires them to lay down their arms, tribal elders and officials said today.

Markha Jan, a tribal elder in Wana, the main town in the region, said: 8216;8216;Foreigners are now ready for registration.8217;8217; Jan said the breakthrough came yesterday when the council of tribal elders met with government officials in Wana.

The registration is expected to start tomorrow in South Waziristan, the scene of a recent military operation against Al Qaeda fugitives that left more than 120 people dead, including 48 soldiers. The March 16-28 operation also netted 163 terror suspects, but most have since been released for lack of evidence.