Relief rolled into Islamabad as the Taliban began rolling back and out of Buner, just a 100 km from the Pakistani capital.
The retreat comes after a meeting between Taliban leaders and the government in Swat, in the frontier province.
A Taliban spokesman however denies that their withdrawal has to do with any pressure from the government or under any deal and said Taliban fighters had crossed from Swat into Buner merely as a gesture of solidarity with their local comrades.
But the withdrawal on Friday comes after the US warned Pakistan to recognise the Taliban as its real threat.
"My hope is that there will be an increasing recognition on the part of the Pakistani government that the Taliban in Pakistan are in fact an existential threat to the democratic government of that country," said Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defence.
On Thursday, after days of dithering the PPP government finally moved Pakistani frontier constabulary forces into Buner to patrol the streets and protect locals from the Taliban.
"They (Pakistan Army) will support the provincial and the federal government and wherever action is required they will do it," said Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
If Gilani can keep his promise, it will mean that his armies are in for the long haul as Taliban makes no secret of its desire to try and establish its control across Pakistan.
