Policeman killed in N Waziristan

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Gunmen have attacked the vehicle of a government administrator in Pakistan's tribal region of North Waziristan, killing a policeman, officials say.

It is not clear who carried out the attack, near the town of Miranshah.

The apparent target of the attack, assistant political agent Mir Ali Ahsanullah, was not in the car when it was fired upon, a spokesman said.

It is the first such attack in the area since a controversial peace deal with pro-Taleban militants in September.

It left two other policemen wounded.

A spokesman for the government in the tribal areas, Shah Zaman, told the BBC the gunmen had escaped.

'Taleban mini-state'

Pakistan signed controversial peace accords with militants in the semi-autonomous tribal areas of North Waziristan in September 2006 and in South Waziristan in April 2004.

<a href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/5320692.stm" class="">Analysis: Taleban deal </a> <a href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/6038206.stm" class="">'Misunderstood' Musharraf </a> <a href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/6220030.stm" class="">No deal on border security </a>

The deals - intended to end violence between tribal militants and Pakistani troops - increased friction between Afghanistan and Pakistan, two key allies in the US-led "war on terror".

Under the agreement the tribesmen promised to stop attacking Pakistani troops and to stop crossing the border to fight in Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government agreed to halt major ground and air operations, free prisoners, retreat to barracks, compensate for losses and allow tribesmen to carry small arms.

The US military says militant attacks in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border tripled in some areas following the North Waziristan deal.

According to an International Crisis Group report earlier in December, Islamabad had allowed "a virtual mini Taleban-style state" to flourish on the border with Afghanistan.

The policy of "appeasement" had allowed militants to regroup and rearm and encouraged a surge in cross-border attacks in Afghanistan, the report said.

Pakistan rejected the accusations. It has long denied it could do more to stem violence in Afghanistan, which it says is largely a problem with its roots in that country.

Afghan attacks

Pakistan sent troops into the federally-administered tribal areas shortly after President Musharraf declared support for the US following the attacks of 11 September, 2001.

The tribal areas are thought to be one place where al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, who is wanted for masterminding the attacks, could be hiding.

Violence in Afghanistan in 2006 has risen to levels not seen since the Taleban were ousted from power by US-led troops in late 2001.

Some 4,000 people are believed to have died this year alone in the insurgency - about a quarter of them civilians.

Suicide attacks and roadside bombings, particularly in the south and east, are an almost daily occurrence.