ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: President Gen Pervez Musharraf is satisfied with the peace deal between the government and tribes of the North Waziristan Agency.

“The president is satisfied with the agreement and has asked all the quarters concerned for its early implementation,” Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told Dawn after attending a high-level briefing in the Army House, Rawalpindi, in which NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai gave a presentation to the president on the agreement.

It was President Musharraf’s first meeting on the accord signed to stem militancy in the North Waziristan Agency after his return from the United States where the agreement was dubbed controversial and discussed at several high-level meetings.

The briefing on Friday was also attended by senior officials of intelligence agencies and security forces.

The minister said that the president had asked the authorities to implement the deal in letter and spirit.

Responding to a question about West’s reaction to the agreement, Mr Sherpao said the president during his foreign visit had succeeded in allaying concerns of people who were criticising the deal.

The agreement, announced earlier in September, has seen military troops deployed in the North Waziristan Agency reduce their profile and allow local militia forces to man some checkpoints in the area.

The deal has also seen release of some militants arrested by the government during army operation in the tribal areas.

The minister tried to play down concerns about security failure in the capital and said the matter had been discussed in the meeting.