A pro-Taliban armed group, battling for enforcing Islamic law in the country's lawless northwestern Swat Valley region, has agreed to a 10-day ceasefire with the Pakistani government, media report said.
A militant spokesman said Sunday that Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the so-called Taliban in Swat, agreed to observe the truce to show his support for peace negotiations currently under way.
The ceasefire announcement came amid negotiations between the local government of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the leader of Tahrik-e-Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi, a group that wants enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) in Swat and Malakand districts as part of the five-point peace agreement expected to be announced Monday.
The Maulana said talks on a draft agreement had been successful and a deal could be signed on Monday. He said a five-member delegation of his group would meet NWFP's chief minister in the provincial capital Peshawar Monday to finalize the deal.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had reportedly delayed the peace accord for two months.
Swat Valley--once a popular tourism destination in Pakistan--has been in turmoil since 2007 with conservative groups fighting troops to press for Sharia. Hundreds of thousands of persons were left homeless after months of violence in the region.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.