No response to Pakistan deadline

Negotiations are still continuing

A deadline issued by Pakistan for a group of fighters to release 14 people they are holding near the Afghan border has met with no response.

The authorities demanded that the 14 - 12 soldiers and two local officials - be released by Thursday morning.

The hostages were captured at the start of an operation in South Waziristan in which about 30 soldiers have died.

The fighters are al-Qaeda and Taleban and tribesmen sheltering them, according to the army.

'Stiff resistance'

Tribal elders trying to negotiate the release of the men say they need more time. The area has been quiet on Thursday while negotiations between the elders and the fighters continue.

The BBC's Haroon Rashid in Peshawar says there is little sign of military activity, even though the deadline has been ignored.

Our correspondent says there seems to be a reluctance to launch another full-scale offensive against the fighters following the stiff resistance they offered during earlier assaults.

Talks between the two sides are continuing through a delegation of 50 tribal elders made up of representatives from all the Federally Administered Tribal Areas - a largely autonomous region along the Afghan border.

Another group of around 20 tribesmen from North Waziristan also says it is playing a mediation role.

Both groups say the negotiations are delicate, and that more time is needed.

Map of the wider region

The tribesmen say that the military have pledged to use force only if they are fired on first.

Our correspondent says it appears the army is worried about getting more reinforcements to the area following an attack on a convoy earlier this week in which 11 soldiers were killed.

Senior officers are worried that the road in which the convoy was attacked is still not secure and that the militants may be seeking more time before resuming hostilities.

The wreckage of seven vehicles destroyed in the attack has still not been removed.

Militants besieged

Tribal elders have been trying for four days to secure the release of the officials and soldiers.

The lack of military activity in South Waziristan is in contrast to the heavy fighting in the area over the last 10 days.

House searches have been conducted by the army in the 50 square kilometre area in which it is believed that the militants are besieged.

The army says it has recovered audio tapes and a note book which may provide clues as to the identity of the fighters.

The army says it has surrounded hundreds of suspected militants in mud-walled compounds, although officials believe some might have escaped.

Around 30 soldiers have been killed since the offensive began

More than 100 tribesmen and foreigners have been arrested in the operation, the army says.

Between 5,000 and 7,500 troops are tackling around an estimated 400 suspected militants and their tribal supporters.

It is the largest army operation in the tribal areas since Pakistani independence in 1947.

Hundreds of protesters have rallied in Peshawar this week shouting "Stop the Wana operation" and "Down with America".

The Islamist coalition the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, which is the main power in North West Frontier Province, is planning a national day of protest tomorrow against the Wana operation.

Earlier it was alleged that a senior al-Qaeda member was among those trapped, but the authorities now say that he may have escaped through a number of tunnels.

US-led forces are backing the Pakistani operation by patrolling the area on the Afghan side of the border.

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