Pakistan will pull its troops out of the Swat valley in its Northwest Frontier Province according to an agreement signed today by government negotiators and local Taliban leaders. Local authorities also agreed to enforce Sharia law so long as girls are allowed to attend school and militants do not carry weapons in public. Pakistan's new government is also negotiating a seperate agreement with Baithullah Mehsud, leader of Pakistani Taliban and suspect in Benazir Bhutto's assasination. The U.S. worries that peace deals will give the Taliban more freedom to launch attacks across the border in Afghanistan. 

In an FP web-exclusive posted yesterday, Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations doubts that these deals will hold up, but argues that the U.S. still should not oppose them. Even a temporary ceasefire, he says, could give Pakistan some time to recover from recent military and political setbacks and allow development projects access to previously off-limits parts of the country.

We'll have more on the developments in Northwest Pakistan in the coming days.