The Marwat Qaumi Jirga issued a three-day ultimatum to the Taliban to release abducted employees of the Atomic Energy Commission belonging to their tribe on Thursday.  The Jirga warned that failure to release the hostages within 72 hours will be considered an act of aggression, resulting in the closure of Marwat territory to the Taliban.

In addition, the Jirga said that joint patrols by the army and police must commence throughout the district within three days. The absence of such patrols will be interpreted as tacit support for the Taliban, according to the Jirga.

Finally, the Jirga announced the formation of village-level committees to promote peace and stability in the region. The Jirga further stated that its boycott of polio vaccination campaigns will remain in effect.

Finally, the Jirga also demanded that if there are any innocent civilians arrested by the state they should be released in three days threatening to halt gas supplies to Punjab.

The AEC workers were kidnapped by the TTP from a construction site on January 9. The kidnapping took place after the TTP announced that it would begin targeting officials belonging to the security forces as well as other government installations.

The Marwat Jirga follows a pattern set by a Jirga in Karak that threatened to launch tribal militia operations if the government did not act against militants. The Karak jirga had prompted an immediate response from the government, and the Counter-Terrorism Department had killed multiple terrorists in Karak the next day.