The decision was announced after talks with a banned pro-Taleban group from the Swat Valley, a former tourist haven in the northwest where extremists have gained sway through beheadings and burning girls’ schools.

Government officials said that laws that do not comply with Islamic texts have been suspended in Malakand region, which includes Swat, effective from today.

“This was the peoples’ demand. There was a [legal] vacuum,” said Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the region’s chief minister.