Pakistan has entered into a secret peace deal with terrorists in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, where the army has struggled to tackle Al Qaeda and the Taliban, a report said on Saturday.
The deal was agreed between the government and more than 280 tribal elders and terrorists in North Waziristan last month, The Daily Telegraph reported, quoting a government official in Peshawar.
'We will abide by it as long as there is no aggression from the government,' Ahmedullah Ahmedi, a terrorist commander from the area, was quoted as saying by the daily.
According to the report, the deal with the terrorists has prompted serious concern among US officials as they contemplate increasing covert military operations in Pakistan's tribal areas on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
'There is concern and we are looking very closely at the deal,' said a senior Western diplomat.
'It is critical that ground gained during recent operations is not lost.'
American officials fear that the deal will allow terrorists to strengthen their forces in the area.
President George W Bush's government claimed that a similar deal last year had allowed Al Qaeda to rebuild and had led to an increase in cross-border infiltration into Afghanistan by insurgents.
