Around 2,000 Pakistani tribesmen began a search on Sunday for foreign Islamic militants and tribal allies just inside the Pakistani border with Afghanistan. The operation in South Waziristan comes several weeks after the Pakistan army\'s biggest strike against militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taleban. More than 100 militants and troops were killed then. However no senior al-Qaeda figure or the tribal leaders who may have been sheltering them was caught. The tribesmen are under heavy pressure to do better. Hundreds of tribal warriors left for the bleak mountains on the Afghan border on foot, carrying little more than AK47 assault rifles and light weapons. The force of 2,000 - known as a tribal lashkar - is trying to accomplish what the Pakistani army failed to do last month; to capture the Arab, Chechen and Uzbek militants believed to be sheltering in the area, along with the tribal leaders who support them. So far, the tribesmen have torched one suspected hideout, but have not run into any resistance. The Pakistani government has set a deadline of next Tuesday for tribal elders to hand over the foreigners and their allies. Meeting in a grand council in the regional capital, Wana, tribal leaders promised action, saying their patience with the militants who have brought misery and trouble to Pakistan\'s tribal belt has now run out. Many al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters fled into Pakistan when the American-led military campaign began in Afghanistan at the end of 2001. Osama Bin Laden and his number two, Ayman al-Zawahri, may be among them, hiding in caves along the mountainous border. Pakistan is under heavy pressure to kill or capture them as the Americans and their Nato and Afghan allies step up operations on the other side. (BBC)