Pakistan's government fired an official who played a key role in crafting a peace deal that has given the Taliban control of the Swat Valley as militants partially pulled backed from a neighboring area they occupied this past week.

The Taliban retreat from the Buner district back to their camps in Swat headed off what some feared was an imminent clash with the military. But government and Taliban officials said "local" Taliban were still in Buner, just 60 miles from Islamabad. The situation remained volatile and a growing number of Pakistani officials, foreign diplomats and analysts are saying it is only a matter of time before the Swat peace deal collapses.

In one indication that Pakistan's leaders are beginning to question the deal, the top administrator for Swat and the surrounding areas, Syed Mohammed Javed, was fired Saturday for maintaining close contacts with a number of wanted Taliban commanders and, officials suspect, perhaps even al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is also wanted by the U.S.

A senior security official said Mr. Javed could face punitive action for dealing with the wanted militants. The official did not provide any further details.

Officials said Mr. Javed was instrumental in negotiating what now appears to be a very one-sided peace deal in Swat, a one-time Alpine vacation getaway where the army has pulled back and the Taliban have been allowed to impose a harsh brand of Islamic law, prohibiting men from shaving their beards and banning women from leaving their homes without male relatives.