By Junaid Khan
MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Islamist militants burneddown a hotel at Pakistan's only ski resort on Thursday assecurity in a northwestern tourist valley deteriorated despitea month-old peace pact, police said.
The Swat valley, several hours drive on mountain roads fromthe capital, Islamabad, was until last year a prime touristdestination with ancient Buddhist ruins, a golf course, troutstreams and the ski resort.
"Half of the hotel has been burned down," said Swat'spolice chief, Waqif Khan, referring to the only hotel at theMalam Jabba ski resort. The hotel is owned by the state tourismauthority.
Khan said authorities had not been able to get to theresort to tackle the blaze or inspect the damage.
"The area is not under our control, it's under themilitants' control and no one can go there," he said.
Militants infiltrated the valley from the Afghan borderlast year to support a radical cleric based there. The armybegan battling the militants in November after the militantsresorted to violence in their campaign to impose Taliban-stylerule.
The hotel shut down last August as tension in the valleyincreased. It later dismissed its staff as visitors stoppedcoming.
The militants and the government of North West FrontierProvince signed a peace pact last month but hopes stabilitywould return have been dashed with a surge of violence thisweek.
Militants have attacked security posts, and police and armypatrols and they blew up several girls' schools. Fifteen peoplehave been killed in recent days.
But a militant spokesman denied setting the hotel on fire.
"Our target is the security forces, we have nothing to dowith the hotel," said the spokesman, Muslim Khan.
Khan said villagers in the area had appealed to his men tohelp them stop businessmen he referred to as "timber mafia"cutting trees on the mountain slopes.
"There's a third element which does not want the peaceaccord to succeed, they don't want peace in the area," he said,apparently referring to the log poachers.
(Writing by Augustine Anthony; Editing by Robert Birsel)
