ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has deployed a few hundred paramilitary troops to provide extra security in the northwestern district of Buner, where the Taliban have recently expanded their presence.

Police say unknown gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying some of the troops Thursday, killing one policeman and injuring another.

Armed militants from neighboring Malakand region entered Buner earlier this month and started setting up checkpoints and patrolling the area. Buner is only about 100 kilometers from the capital, Islamabad.  

The development has raised concerns that Islamic militants are spreading their influence after the government approved a peace deal with them in Malakand. The agreement allows a pro-Taliban cleric and militant leader, Sufi Mohammed to impose Sharia strict Islamic law in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the peace deal Wednesday saying it shows the government has basically “abdicated to the Taliban and to extremists.”

In a separate development Thursday, police say militants torched at least six trucks carrying fuel to NATO troops in Afghanistan. The attack occurred near the city of Peshawar.

Source:  VOA News