Moving forward after an announcement earlier this week that they would agree to a permanent ceasefire, the Swat Valley chapter of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reportedly dismantled a number of its checkpoints in the area, and witnesses say they have seen no armed TTP patrols.

The move seems to stem from the 10-point peace plan detailed by influential cleric Sufi Muhammad, who was instrumental in brokering the deal to end the military conflict in the restive valley. His plan called for the TTP to dismantle all of its checkpoints in the region, and for its members to not display their arms while in the valley.

Announced earlier this month, the deal to end the fighting in the Swat Valley included the enforcement of Islamic law across the entire Malakand area of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), of which the Swat Valley is a part. Though it appears to have been successful in halting the fighting in the area and has been embraced by locals, the deal has been condemned by western leaders, who believe it amounts to a surrender by the Pakistani government.

Last 5 posts by Jason Ditz

• Homegrown US 'Terror Plots' Drop, But Nation Still 'On Edge' - February 9th, 2012
• Amputations Soared Among US Troops in 2011 - February 9th, 2012
• US Still Can't Find Missing Libyan Missiles - February 9th, 2012
• Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood: Let Us Form Government - February 9th, 2012
• As Reports of Violence Grow in Syria, So Do Western Calls for Intervention - February 9th, 2012