Pak pays for peace, 'buys' indefinite truce from Taliban

Mingora, Pakistan: Taliban militants announced an indefinite ceasefire in the Swat valley in the northwest of the country on Tuesday, a day after the army said it was ceasing operations in the region.

The ceasefire, following an agreement by the authorities on the enforcement of Islamic sharia law in the valley, is likely to compound concerns among Western countries, which fear a truce will create another militant sanctuary in Pakistan.

Militants in Swat, which until 2007 was one of Pakistan's prime tourist destinations, had already announced a 10-day truce after a radical cleric, Maulana Sufi Mohammad, struck a deal with authorities on the enforcement of sharia law.

That temporary truce has been made permanent, said a Taliban spokesman in the valley, 120 km northwest of Islamabad. "We have agreed on an indefinite ceasefire," said the spokesman, Muslim Khan.

Khan said the Taliban in the valley, led by Sufi Mohammad's militant son-in-law, Fazlullah, also decided to release three people, including two politicians, as a "goodwill gesture".

TV channels report a Pakistani news agency has claimed that the Taliban received 480 million Pakistani rupees ($6 million) after they agreed to the ceasefire. The money was apparently paid through back channels. It came from the Pakistan President's fund. The money is also expected to compensate those who lost members of their families during Pakistani military operations and for properties destroyed by the security forces.

The militants had virtually taken over control of the entire valley in recent months, residents said, killing their enemies and blowing up schools, which they said the security forces were using as outposts.

The army said on Monday it had ceased operations against militants in the valley and said there would be no sanctuary for militants there if the writ of the state was re-established.

The United States and other Western countries have been pressing Pakistan for years to eliminate militant sanctuaries, especially in areas along the Afghan border from where Taliban infiltrate into Afghanistan.

(With inputs from Reuters and CNN-IBN)