Pakistan was accused of surrendering a huge swath of territory to the Taleban yesterday when it agreed to impose Sharia and suspend military operations in the scenic Swat Valley.

The decision is troubling for the United States, which believes that it will embolden militants who are fighting US-led troops in Afghanistan and want to impose Islamic law across nuclear-armed Pakistan.

US officials believe that it will now provide another safe haven for the militants within 80 miles of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, as well as a corridor between the Afghan border and the disputed region of Kashmir.

Pakistani officials said that it was the only way to pacify a fierce Islamist insurgency and avoid more civilian casualties in Swat – whose ski resort and mountain scenery once made it a popular tourist destination.

Pakistan’s army sent troops into Swat in 2007, but about 6,000-8,000 militants have overrun the valley in the past few months, destroying girls’ schools, music shops and barbers and displaying victims’ corpses in public.

Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister for the North West Frontier Province, announced the Government’s decision after a meeting with militant leaders in the provincial capital, Peshawar.

“Those who adopted militancy should move towards peace now the agreement has been reached,” he said.

He said that local authorities would impose Islamic law across Malakand region, which includes Swat. Officials said that Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani President, would sign off on the deal once peace had been restored. The agreement came the day after the Taleban in Swat said that it would observe a ten-day ceasefire in support of the peace process.

Pakistani officials say that the laws allow Muslim clerics to advise judges, but do not outlaw female education, music or other activities banned by the Taleban.

One Western diplomat told The Times: “The Pakistani Army doesn’t seem to have the will to fight in Swat: they’ve effectively surrendered.”

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