Islamabad, April 25, 2008 -  The Pakistani military on Thursday welcomed a unilateral truce offered by an al-Qaeda linked tribal warlord accused of plotting former premier Benazir Bhutto's murder.

Militant commander Baitullah Mehsud this week circulated a letter in regions along the bordering Afghanistan telling his followers to halt attacks on security forces amid peace talks with the government.

"Any cessation of hostilities is a welcome step," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told agencies.

"If they cease militant activities it is a good development," General Abbas added. However, he said the military had not been informed about the development.

"We have not received anything from them," he said, adding that tribal elders were negotiating with government officials.

The typed letter, distributed in the tribal Waziristan region and some other parts of North West Frontier Province, warned that those who violated the order would be publicly hanged.

A senior Taliban source confirmed the militant movement was the source of the notice. "We have issued the letter," he said, requesting anonymity.

The letter emerged a day after officials said that Pakistan's new government, which defeated allies of President Pervez Musharraf in elections in February, had drafted a peace agreement with Taliban in the tribal belt.

Bureau Report