Pakistan has previously signed such pacts with tribes in its northwest regions bordering Afghanistan, and they tend to unravel.

But Monday's agreement in the Bajur tribal area came after the army said it had defeated insurgents there after six months of fighting.

Bajur is a rumored hiding place of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and the offensive there has earned praise from American officials who are concerned that militants use Pakistan as a base from which to plan attacks in Afghanistan.

The 28-point pact was signed with the Mamund tribe, which controls a large swath of Bajur and whose ranks have yielded most of the top leaders of the local Taliban. Shafirullah Khan, the top Bajur government official, told reporters that the tribe also agreed to ban the display of heavy weapons.

Tribal elders have traditionally had massive influence in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal regions. Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have decimated the elders' ranks, but the Pakistani government has still relied on tribes to help it overcome militants - encouraging the rise of tribal militias, for example.

The government also prefers to avoid talking directly to militants, and thus turns to intermediaries including tribal leaders.

Mamund tribal elder Malik Abdul Aziz told reporters Monday that he and his colleagues were in touch with local insurgent leader Faqir Mohammed and Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar, and that both had agreed to surrender.

However, Aziz also said the tribe has an "understanding" with the government that those who turn themselves in will be pardoned if the tribe guarantees they will no longer fight.

The tribe also agreed to register the area's religious schools, which often are breeding grounds for militants, and to disallow the broadcasting of anti-government propaganda in mosques and other places.

Members of the tribe straddle both sides of the Pakistan-Afghan border, and the elders agreed to monitor the movement of alleged extremists across the border.

They also promised to ensure the safety of foreign and local contractors engaged in development work, Khan said.

A committee has been formed to check on the upkeep of the pact. If the tribe violates the deal, it will face fines, the confiscation of many weapons and "any action" deemed necessary by the government, Khan said.