MINGORA, Pakistan — Pakistan has agreed to an open- ended cease-fire with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, government officials said Saturday, extending a truce as the country pursues broader, much-criticized talks aimed at calming a large swathe of its northwestern region bordering Afghanistan.
The Taliban leader in Swat, however, said the militants would only decide on whether to halt fighting for good after a 10-day cease-fire announced last Sunday expires — and that decision hinged on the government taking unspecified “practical steps.”
The twists underscored the fragile nature of peace talks in Pakistan’s northwest, where al-Qaeda and Taliban militants have established strongholds. Past peace deals have collapsed, including one last year with militants in Swat that security officials said simply allowed the insurgents to regroup.
