ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The leader of the Taliban of the Swat region announced a long-term cease-fire on Tuesday, handing the Pakistani military a respite from fighting, and raising tenuous hopes for peace.
The army, which has been battling militants in Swat off and on for more than a year, said Monday that it had returned to barracks.
The cease-fire was announced by the spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah, a hard-line cleric in Swat, who has led a terrorism campaign against civilians, including the burning of girls’ schools and public executions.
The spokesman, Muslim Khan, told reporters that the cease-fire would be for an “indefinite period.” The well-armed Taliban have gained control of about 70 percent of the Swat Valley, 100 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, by using brutal guerrilla tactics against an army unaccustomed to insurgency warfare.
There was considerable skepticism about the durability of the cease-fire. There was no word from the government or the militants on whether there was a specific agreement that dealt with the top demands of the militants, including the introduction of Islamic courts and amnesty for their fighters.
The national government has said it agrees to the introduction of Islamic courts, but will not sign off on putting them into effect until there is peace in Swat.
On Monday, Mualana Sufi Mohammed, who is the father-in-law of Mr. Fazlullah, and with whom the government initially arranged a cease-fire a week ago, said that Islamic law was now in practice in Swat.
Some politicians said Tuesday that the cessation of hostilities would give the militants a pause to gather strength and bring more recruits from the tribal belt, where the Taliban keep fighters in reserve.
The government of the North-West Frontier Province announced that schools were open on Monday, but only a few children attended. Property owners who fled Swat months ago, for fear of being singled out by the Taliban, said it was too early to return.
The seriousness of the militants was in question after they captured a newly appointed senior government official, the district coordination officer, Khushhal Khan, and his aides on Sunday. They were released after six hours.
The cease-fire announcement by Mr. Fazlullah followed a statement by militants on Monday night in nearby Bajaur, in the tribal belt, that they would observe a cease-fire with government troops there.
The Frontier Corps, a Pakistani paramilitary force that has been fighting in Bajaur, said over the weekend that soldiers had captured two crucial militant strongholds.
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