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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 'Permanent Swat ceasefire agreed' | 'Permanent Swat ceasefire agreed' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Pakistan has announced a "permanent ceasefire" with Taleban rebels in the north-western valley of Swat. | |
| Syed Mohammad Javed, commissioner of Malakand, which includes Swat, revealed the deal, but the Taleban say that negotiations are continuing. | |
| Swat, once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, has been blighted by violence since 2007. | Swat, once one of Pakistan's most popular holiday destinations, has been blighted by violence since 2007. |
| Reports of the pact come a week after a 10-day ceasefire and a deal to implement Sharia law in parts of Swat. | Reports of the pact come a week after a 10-day ceasefire and a deal to implement Sharia law in parts of Swat. |
| Local Taleban met a senior elder, Sufi Mohammad, to discuss ceasefire terms before the agreement was announced, reports said. | Local Taleban met a senior elder, Sufi Mohammad, to discuss ceasefire terms before the agreement was announced, reports said. |
| Sufi Mohammad, a pro-Taleban cleric, is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who has been waging a violent campaign to impose Sharia in the region. | Sufi Mohammad, a pro-Taleban cleric, is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who has been waging a violent campaign to impose Sharia in the region. |
| Crossfire | Crossfire |
| Following the deal struck last Sunday to agree to introduce Sharia law, the government's announcement suggests negotiations between Maulana Fazlullah and Sufi Mohammad could now be leading to a more permanent deal. | |
| "They have made commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we'll do the same," Mr Javed, the commissioner of Malakand, told reporters on Saturday. | "They have made commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we'll do the same," Mr Javed, the commissioner of Malakand, told reporters on Saturday. |
| He said that the army would scale back its operations in the valley and asked residents who left Swat because of the fighting to return home. | |
| Schools for boys would reopen, although school for girls would remain closed, Mr Javed added. | |
| A Taleban spokesman told the BBC that while Maulana Fazlullah had expressed his satisfaction with the peace agreement, the rebels would not lay down their arms until the new Sharia regulations were enforced to their satisfaction. | |
| He said negotiations between the two sides were continuing but no deal had been yet been reached, the BBC's Shoiab Hassan reports from Islamabad. | |
| Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed in Swat since a Taleban insurgency began in 2007. | Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed in Swat since a Taleban insurgency began in 2007. |
| The people of Swat have long been caught in the crossfire between the army and the Taleban. | The people of Swat have long been caught in the crossfire between the army and the Taleban. |
| More than 1,000 civilians have died in shelling by the army or from beheadings sanctioned by the Taleban. Thousands more have been displaced. | More than 1,000 civilians have died in shelling by the army or from beheadings sanctioned by the Taleban. Thousands more have been displaced. |
| The Taleban now control the entire countryside of Swat, limiting army control to parts of the valley's capital, Mingora. | The Taleban now control the entire countryside of Swat, limiting army control to parts of the valley's capital, Mingora. |