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 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.
Analysts cautioned it would take time to judge the new approach, noting that Musharraf also struck truces with some groups that U.S. officials have complained gave Pakistani militants as well as Taliban and al-Qaeda 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 Waziristan, where U.S. officials believe Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders are hiding.
