On Monday, in Islamabad, Pakistan, government officials agreed to a truce with Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters in the Northwest Frontier known as Swat Valley. Within the truce are provisions for a temporary ceasefire, as well as the acknowledgment of Islamic law (Shariah), as the formal judicial system in the region.

Swat Valley, a region the size of Delaware, is located in northwest Pakistan and has recently become a safe haven and base for Islamic extremists such as Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

The truce came about as the result of a series of Pakistani military losses over the course of the past year. The Taliban and other militant groups have consistently defeated Pakistan’s force of 12,000 soldiers with a group of only 3,000 extremists. According to Pakistani officials, the militants now control about 70 percent of the area, which is located a mere 100 miles from Pakistan’s capital.

After consulting with president Asif Ali Zardari, provincial government officials agreed to the truce, which limits Pakistani soldiers to playing a defensive role rather than trying to re-claim the valley, as well as imposing Islamic law on the region.

Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's government information minister, says the truce "is in no way a sign of the state’s weakness.” She claims that the truce is aimed at ending the suffering endured by the region’s population. “The public will of the population of the Swat region is at the center of all efforts, and it should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement,” says Rehman.

Now that Swat Valley is under the full control of Islamic extremists, however, there is little that can be done from the provincial government’s standpoint. The local population has suffered floggings as well as the burning of schools.

Since the Obama administration is now in power, and attempting to show its strength in Afghanistan, they have sent an additional 17,000 new soldiers to stop the escalating violence. The new truce comes as a shock to U.S. policy makers. As a standing ally with the U.S in the war on terror, Pakistan has come under fire for aiding and abetting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters, who freely cross Pakistan's border with weapons and supplies.

Not surprisingly, U.S. strategists are enraged that the provincial government would concede such a vital area, as well as the well being of the local population, to the militants. While government officials such as Rehman say that the truce is in the best interest of the people, the extremists who now control the area have gone so far as to hang decapitated bodies in full view of the public, and have used suicide bombers to target former political officials.

Recent violence in Afghanistan has skyrocketed, leaving U.S officials to question where Pakistan’s loyalties truly lie. Since Pakistan’s government believes that surrendering the region to extremists such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is in the best interest of the people, the question must be asked whether the United States can truly consider Pakistan an ally in the war on terror.