Pakistan releases pro-Taliban cleric

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistan freed a pro-Taliban cleric and quickly signed an accord with his hard-line group Monday, the first major step by the new government to talk peace with Islamic militants and break with President Pervez Musharraf's policy of using force.

The day's developments began with the release of Sufi Muhammad, who is believed to be in his 70s, after more than five years in custody following his dispatch of thousands of followers to fight in Afghanistan.

A few hours later, the government of North West Frontier Province said Muhammad's group signed a pact renouncing violence in return for being allowed to peacefully campaign for Islamic law. Security forces have the right to "act against" any extremists who attack the government.

Analysts cautioned it would take time to judge the new approach, noting Musharraf also struck truces with some groups that U.S. officials have complained gave Pakistani militants as well as Taliban and al-Qaida fighters a chance to build up their strength.

The anti-government sentiments in the region affected by Monday's deal are seen as less intractable than those held by Taliban sympathizers in the tribal regions of Waziristan, where U.S. officials believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders are hiding.

Provincial government spokesman Faridullah Khan said the pact covers the Swat Valley and neighboring districts in this area along the Afghan frontier.

It was not clear if the deal was accepted by Muhammad's son-in-law, Mualana Fazlullah, whose fighters seized control of the Swat Valley last year, prompting a bloody army offensive.

Fazlullah's spokesman could not be reached for comment late Monday. Fazlullah is reportedly at odds with Muhammad, and experts expressed doubts the younger militant would change.

"I think Maulana Fazlullah will continue with whatever he is doing," said Mehmood Shah, former security chief for Pakistan's tribal areas.

Talat Masood, a retired general and security analyst, said the deal with Muhammad demonstrated the new government's willingness to try dialogue with militants and could increase pressure on Fazlullah and others to lay down their arms.

"But it's a long way before you can make any judgment as to whether this is a success," he said, citing the previous failed peace efforts with pro-Taliban militants.

"We have to see ... to what extent both parties are going to abide by the agreement and whether the militants use this period to consolidate," he said.

Pakistan's national government, led by the party of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, wants to use dialogue and development to curb militancy in the tribal region. The North West Frontier provincial government, which is led by a Pashtun nationalist party, has joined the effort.

It is a major shift from the more aggressive approach that Musharraf's military regime took with U.S. support after Pakistan joined the war on terror following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad could not be reached for comment late Monday. In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said he did not have any details on Muhammad's release, but said the U.S. is "continuing to cooperate with the government of Pakistan as it seeks to confront extremism."