Pakistan elders reach agreement with militants in Taliban-threatened area

Tribal elders have agreed to allow Taliban militants to remain inPakistan's Buner district on the condition they don't attack government offices, just as paramilitary troops were sent in to protect public buildings and roads.

The elders met with Taliban onThursday in Daggar, Buner's main town, to discuss thesituation just days after militants from the neighbouring Swat Valley began infiltrating the area in large numbers, establishing checkpoints, patrolling roads and spreading fear.

Buner administrator Javed Khan said the Taliban agreed to not exhibit weapons or interfere with government offices. The militants also promised to leave aid groups alone, and return seized government vehicles, he said.

It was unclear whether the militants would be withdrawing from the northwestern region.

In Washington, Michael Ignatieff said "the evolving situation in Pakistan is of enormous concern to Ambassador [Richard] Holbrooke and General [David] Petraeus."

The Liberal leader, who was in Washington for a conference on Afghanistan, haddinner with the two men Wednesday night.

"It's evident at the moment that they're more worried about the evolving situation in Pakistan than they are in Afghanistan," he said.

However, Ignatieff said he does not support the idea of unilateral American military action in Pakistan withoutthe full consent of Pakistan's government.

"I made it clear that were I prime minister, no Canadian forces could be involved in such actions.It's very important that you don't make Pakistan's problems more difficult by unauthorized military action on that side of the border."

But he's not privy to U.S. security intelligence, Ignatieff added.

"I think it's fair to say that the Americans have substantial concerns about whether there are military, diplomatic or political options that they can pursue.I certainly didn't hear a strategy in my discussions with them."

Meanwhile in Pakistan,a Taliban leader who goes only by the name Cmdr. Khalil saidthat militants had agreed to stop patrolling in Buner but would keep armed guards in their vehicles.

"We are here peacefully preaching for Shariah. We don't want to fight," Khalil told The Associated Press.

Nasir Laik, an elder at the Daggar meeting, said the militants could stay so long as they only preached.

Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas, the Pakistan army's chief spokesman, said the situation in Buner is not as dire as some have portrayed militants are in control of less than 25 per cent of the district.

Troops sent in

Pakistan's army has thousands of troops in Swat but had none in Buner until paramilitary troops were sent in on Thursday. Many police and government officials in Buner, a district inhabited by about 500,000 people,appear to have either fled or are keeping a low profile.

According to local officials, the Taliban have established a base in the village of Sultanwas in the region and set up positions in the nearby hills. Residents say they have been broadcasting sermons by radio about Islam and warning barbers to stop shaving men's beards.

The six Frontier Constabulary platoons arrived in Buner on Thursday after their security convoy came under gunfire.A police officer who was escorting the group was killed in the attack and another was wounded, said Hukam Khan, an area police official.

It was not immediately clear whether the gunmen were Taliban militants.

Syed Mohammed Javed, a top government official who oversees the area covered by the peace deal, confirmed that the platoons had been sent to the region bordering Afghanistan, but would not say if it was in direct response to the Taliban infiltration.

He did not specify the number of troops involved, but a platoon typically has 30 to 50 members.

Militants have established a base in the village of Sultanwas and have set up positions in the nearby hills, said an official who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press.

Ceasefire criticized

U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursdayto discuss the situation in the region, Zardari's office said. The office did not say whether Buner was mentioned specifically.

The call came as the chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, was in Pakistan for talks with officials.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan is submitting to the Taliban by allowing the imposition of Islamic law in the embattled Swat Valley.

The Taliban seized control of the valley, once an alpine resort, in a violent uprising in 2007 that pushed tens of thousands of residents from the area. Violence continued in the area until the Pakistani government agreed in February to a deal.

President Asif Ali Zardari signedthe deal into law last week that allows Taliban militants who control the Swat in the northwest to impose Islamic law in exchange for a ceasefire.

Several area residents have voiced their support for the deal, saying it heralds an end to the violence that has scarred the area.

But Western governments have argued the deal paves the way for the establishment of a de facto base for Taliban militants.