Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan say they are consideringextending their cease-fire, but deny they reached a permanent agreementas local government officials had claimed.
The head of thehardline group of Taliban in Swat valley said Saturday that his groupis reviewing its existing 10-day cease-fire. Maulana Fazlullah, said ina radio announcement that they will consider extending it when itexpires next week.
Earlier, Syed Muhammed Javed, thecommissioner of the Malakand region, which includes Swat, said themilitants had agreed to a permanent cease-fire.
Fazlullah'sfather-in-law, Sufi Muhammad, who leads a separate Islamist group inSwat, reached an agreement last week with local officials to imposeIslamic law (Sharia) in the region if his militants lay down their arms.
Talibanofficials say Muhammad met with Fazlullah earlier this week tonegotiate an end to fighting between militants and the government.
Militantsfrom various factions operate in northwestern Pakistan. Some use theterritory to launch attacks in neighboring Afghanistan, targeting localand international forces.
The United States and NATO have bothexpressed concern that the deal reached with militants last week couldprovide a safe haven for extremists in the already volatile region.
Meanwhile,officials say a roadside bomb exploded near a fuel tanker on aPakistani supply line in the Khyber district used by NATO forces inAfghanistan. One person was killed, and two others wounded in theblast.