Pakistan army vows to hold fire in Swat

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military on Tuesday vowed to hold fire and respect a controversial agreement signed between the government and militants to enforce Islamic law in the violence-torn Swat valley.

"The army works on the government's orders. The government has given it orders to hold fire. The army will not take any offensive action," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told. The army will "certainly" respect the agreement, he said. "The army went there (Swat) at the request of the government. Whenever the government feels normalcy has been restored and the writ of government has been re-established, it will leave," added Abbas.

Monday's deal, widely seen as a government concession but billed by the authorities as a chance to restore peace to Swat, was signed between provincial ministers and a pro-Taliban but relatively moderate cleric, Soofi Mohammad.