Pakistan ? NATO led a growing chorus of international concern Tuesday by warning that a truce between the government of Pakistan and Taliban militants in a restive region near the Afghan border risks giving the extremists a “safe haven.”

A hard-line cleric sent to the battle-scarred Swat Valley to negotiate with the Taliban received a hero’s welcome there by crowds shouting “Long live Islam! Long live peace!”

The cleric, Sufi Muhammad, expressed hope the militants would give up their arms to honor the pact, which imposes Islamic law and suspends a military offensive in the former tourist haven and nearby areas.

NATO has 55,000 troops in Afghanistan, and many face attacks by Taliban and al-Qaida fighters believed to find refuge in pockets of Pakistan’s northwest.