Pakistan's provincial government says deal with militants intact

Islamabad, June 10 PPI: The provincial government in Pakistan's northwest Monday said that a peace deal with local Taliban militants in Swat valley had not ended. Rahman Malik, interior advisor to the Prime Minister was quoted by private TV channels as saying that Pakistan government had scrapped peace deal with local Taliban in the volatile Swat Valley. "The agreement is still intact and if the Federal government has some reservations over the deal it should take the provincial Chief Minister into confidence," senior North West Frontier Province Minister Bashir Bilor said. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban Movement Maulvi Umar as saying that Taliban was still holding the truce and the deal was not signed with the Federal government and it could not scrap it. NWFP provincial government last month signed a deal with local Taliban, who promised to stop attacks on security forces and in return announced to withdraw troops from Swat.