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| Taleban announces Swat ceasefire | Taleban announces Swat ceasefire |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Taleban fighters in north-west Pakistan's restive Swat valley have announced a 10-day ceasefire. | Taleban fighters in north-west Pakistan's restive Swat valley have announced a 10-day ceasefire. |
| The move came after the government signed a deal with a militant leader to enforce Islamic law in the district. | |
| The ceasefire halts fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taleban militants in Swat that had raged since November 2007. | |
| Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat valley is now mostly under Taleban control. | Once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, the Swat valley is now mostly under Taleban control. |
| Hundreds of civilians have died in an increasingly bloody insurgency there, while thousands of others have been forced to migrate. | |
| Details to come | |
| The agreement was signed by Taleban cleric Sufi Mohammad after talks with the North West Frontier Province's government. | |
| The agreement binds the provincial government to implement Sharia law in the Malakand division, which comprises Swat and its adjoining areas. | |
| A militant spokesman, Muslim Khan, said the ceasefire was a "goodwill gesture to the ongoing talks between Sufi Mohammad and the government". | |
| Details are to be formally announced on Monday in provincial capital, Peshawar. | |
| The ceasefire will certainly be welcomed by all sides, says the BBC's Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad. | |
| The Taleban say they will examine the document thoroughly before announcing a permanent end to hostilities. | |
| A Chinese engineer held hostage for five months had also been released as a sign of good faith, the militants said. | |
| Mr Long, who was captured last August in the Dir region with a Chinese colleague, arrived at China's embassy in Islamabad earlier on Sunday and was in good health, a Chinese official said. | |
| The colleague escaped in October, the Taleban said at the time. |