The Taliban and the Pakistani government have agreed to a permanent ceasefire in Pakistan's volatile northwest Swat Valley region, a Pakistani official said Saturday.
The announcement was made by Syed Muhammad Javed, the commissioner of the Malakand region, which includes Swat.
Javed offered few details, but the news comes as the Pakistani government attempts to negotiate an end to Taliban fighting in the region in return for imposing Islamic law.
"The government and the Taliban fighters have decided to observe a permanent ceasefire," Javed told reporters at the Swat Press Club in the valley's main city of Mingora on Saturday. "The Taliban has agreed to it and so do we."
The Taliban would not confirm that it had agreed to the ceasefire.
"We do welcome the government's announcement of the permanent ceasefire, but as far as the ceasefire from our side we can announce it on our own, and we will do that ourselves," Muslim Khan, a spokesperson for the Swat Taliban, told The Associated Press.
Al Qaeda and Taliban militants have taken control of various regions within northwest Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan.
In Swat, the Taliban have used beheadings and other terror tactics to intimidate locals and gain control of the region despite a heavy Pakistani military presence in the area.
Last week, Pakistani officials agreed to end military offensives in the region and to impose Islamic law in some parts of the valley.
In return, the Taliban agreed to a 10-day ceasefire.
Javed also announced on Saturday that the government would open all boys and girls schools up to Grade 4 and pledged to provide security for the facilities.
He also encouraged thousands of local residents who have fled the violence to return to their homes.
However, the violence has continued throughout the region in recent months.
Militants have attacked vehicles on the Khyber Pass, a common route through Pakistan's northwest that is used to transport supplies to American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, one person was killed after a roadside bomb detonated in the Landi Kotal region. The bomb was targeting an oil tanker that was on its way to NATO forces in Afghanistan, said Ameer Zada Khan, a local official.
With files from The Associated Press
