About 100 Pakistani soldiers who were missing and feared captured by pro-Taleban militants have been found, the army says.
The militants had claimed they had seized 300 men in south Waziristan.
But the military said the soldiers in the convoy which had lost contact were sheltering in a valley during a storm and would return to base on Friday.
"There is no suggestion of kidnapping or fighting," Major General Waheed Arshad told the AFP news agency.
A Muslim militant group had said it had taken the troops because the government was not honouring a recent peace deal.
There has been rising violence in the region in recent months, with at least 60 soldiers and 250 militants killed.
Several peace deals between the government and rebels have collapsed.
US officials have described the tribal areas near the Afghan border as an al-Qaeda safe haven.
Earlier in the week 18 soldiers were freed by militants following a deal brokered by tribal chiefs.
Violence has soared in the region since troops were sent into Islamabad's Red Mosque to flush out Islamists in July. More than 100 people died in the operation.
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