Wana, Pakistan, May 08: The Pakistani military said today it might use force again to hunt down foreign militants holed up along the rugged, lawless border with Afghanistan as a midnight deadline approached for them to surrender or register. Government officials and tribesmen sheltering the foreigners were trying to hammer out differences with just hours to go before the deadline, said a senior government official in the North West Frontier Province capital, Peshawar.

''There is still no understanding on how the registration will take place but we are hopeful that the issue will be finally resolved,'' said one official, who asked not to be identified. The foreign militants had received ample time to register with the government and to give a pledge not to create security problems, military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said.

About 120 people were killed in March when the Pakistani military raided homes of tribesmen and militant hideouts in south Waziristan, a wild tribal area near the afghan border.

Instead, the tribesmen had offered personal guarantees that the foreigners would not engage in attacks on Pakistani or Afghan soil. The offer was made by tribal warrior Nek Mohammad, who was given an amnesty after the March battles despite his links to al Qaeda and the Taliban after he pledged to stop fighting.

Bureau Report