ISLAMABAD: Rattled by a fresh wave of suicide attacks, the Pakistan government has scrapped a deal signed last month with the Taliban that had been bitterly opposed by the United States and Afghanistan. "The Swat agreement is scrapped as the militants have (continued) their attacks on security forces," Rahman Malik, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs, told reporters here.

The government in the restive North West Frontier Province had signed the agreement with Taliban militants in the restive Swat valley under which the militants had given a commitment that they would stop attacks on security forces. It was also decided that army would be gradually withdrawn from the region. Malik's announcement came a day after Taliban militants killed four policemen in an ambush in Matani, near Peshawar, the capital of NWFP bordering Afghanistan.

The Pakistani Taliban had accused the government of not honoring its commitments under the deal. The new Pakistan People's Party-led federal government had said it would adopt a three-pronged strategy combing political dialogue, socio-economic development and military force to deal with militancy in the northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

However, western nations especially the US which is leading coalition forces against Taliban in Afghanistan have expressed concern about the government's dialogue with Taliban militants led by commander Baitullah Mehsud.

Islamabad too has been rocked by bombings recently, including a suicide attack at the Danish embassy that left eight people dead on June 2 and a bomb blast at an Italian restaurant on March 15 that killed a Turkish woman and wounded 10 foreigners, including four US FBI staff.

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