Pak govt scraps Swat peace deal with Taliban

Islamabad, Jun 10: Following "continued attacks by militants on security forces", the peace pact with the pro-Taliban militants in the Swat valley has been scrapped, said Prime Minister's Adviser on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik, last evening. The peace deal was inked last month between the extremists and the NWFP Government.

Under the peace pact, the Taliban-inclined militants had agreed that they would refrain from attacking the security forces. "The Swat agreement is scrapped as the militants have continued their attacks on security forces," the Daily Times quoted Malik as saying while talking to a group of reporters in Islamabad.

The announcement comes a day after the Taliban militants killed four policemen in an ambush in Mattani, near Peshawar. The Taliban accused the government of not honouring its commitments under the deal.

Earlier, on Monday Malik reportedly said that escalating violence against government forces meant there was no point in continuing with the deal signed last month. "The Interior minister... has admitted that there has been an escalation [in attacks]. And, that if the government did lose its patience and the militants in that area did not stop their activities then the deal would be off," he said.

ANI