PESHAWAR, Feb 25: The government denied on Wednesday having reached a peace agreement with militants in Bajaur and said that security forces would continue their operation in the restive agency.

“There is no peace deal … the operation is continuing as originally planned,” a Fata secretariat statement said on Wednesday.

The statement comes in the wake of a unilateral ceasefire announced by militants after negotiations between the Mamoond tribe and the political authorities, which indicated that possibly a peace agreement had been reached in the agency.

According to security officials, militants declared the unilateral ceasefire after security forces had occupied two important heights dominating their stronghold of Omari in Mamoond area on Sunday night.

“We literally caught them napping,” an officer closely involved with the operation in Bajaur said.

The officer, who led the operation to occupy the heights, has been rewarded by Inspector-General of the Frontier Corps Maj-Gen Tariq Khan.

The move exposed militants to snipers and also put them under virtual siege. Officials and local residents said militants had already vacated Inayat Kalley, another of their strongholds, fearing advance by paramilitary troops.

Dawn learnt on good authority that hours after the occupation of the two heights, militants’ spokesman Haji Mohammad Omar announced the unilateral ceasefire and said that militants would end their attacks on troops and would help security personnel in their search operation to prove that there were no foreign militants in their area.

Officials said that paramilitary forces had picked up ‘chatter’ in foreign languages, including Arabic.

A senior government official said that after the setback suffered by the militants, the Mamoond tribe, which was not cooperating in handing over militants wanted by the government, was now actively seeking to mediate a peace agreement.

A jirga of the tribe met the political agent and requested for a truce, which would enable them to speak with militants. The officials said that the tribal elders were reminded that it was their responsibility to maintain security in their area.

He said the government wanted the militants to lay down arms and surrender.