BBC NEWS | South Asia | Rebels 'burn Pakistan ski hotel'
Militants in north-west Pakistan have burned down much of a hotel in the country's only ski resort, police say.
The night time attack follows sporadic clashes this week between militants and security forces and arson attacks on several girls' schools.
The Swat valley fire came hours after the prime minister and military agreed a broad outline to counter the threat of Islamist militancy. The meeting was also attended by politicians and intelligence chiefs.
'Deteriorating'
Officials say that the authorities have not been able to get to the resort to tackle the blaze or inspect the damage. "The area is not under our control, it's under the militants' control and no one can go there," Swat's police chief, Waqif Khan, told Reuters news agency.
The attack on the government-run hotel happened at Malam Jabba in Swat valley, where militants signed a peace deal with Pakistani authorities in May after months of clashes.
Militants in the area have denied they were responsible for the attack.
"Our target is the security forces, we have nothing to do with the hotel," militant spokesman Muslim Khan told Reuters.
He said that illegal mountain log cutters - or "timber mafia" - were behind the arson because they did not want the peace accord to succeed.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says that the security situation in Swat has been deteriorating despite the one-month peace agreement between the government and a radical pro-Taleban cleric.
The Taleban had suspended contact with the authorities because of differences over implementing the deal but have agreed to return to talks expected to be held on Thursday.
The ski resort shut down last August when militants took over Swat.
With the recent peace accord, our correspondent says that there had been hope for a revival of the tourism industry.
Suicide bombings
The Taleban admit attacking soldiers and police to avenge the death of the their comrades but they deny torching at least 10 girls' schools, claiming unnamed elements were trying to sabotage the peace deal. Our correspondent says that the Swat accord is part of the government's plan to end Islamic militancy through peace deals.
The strategy has led to a dramatic drop in suicide bombings but critics say it has also allowed the Taleban to regroup.
The hotel is located about 150km (93 miles) north of Islamabad at an altitude of 2,636m (9,200ft) and had been closed for several months since unrest in the area had kept all tourists away. The attack follows a meeting on Wednesday in which the prime minister and army and intelligence chiefs agreed to seek political engagement with militants in the north-west through members of parliament, tribal elders and influential local people.
How soon do you think Peshawar will fall?
Pekhawar falling?? Ladies and Gentleman -- NWFP isn't a threat, the people living there aren't threatening, Peshawar is fine and dandy... Nothing to worry about! 
