Army troops will remain in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan despite a recent peace accord with local militants allied to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, government officials said Saturday. "Nobody has talked about withdrawal of troops from Waziristan," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. Her comments echoed ones by Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai, governor of North West Frontier Province, who also said the peace deal did not envisage any troop pullout.This past week's peace agreement between the government and local militants raised concerns in Afghanistan and some European capitals that the region could become a de facto sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters from Afghanistan, where they are engaged in escalating guerrilla warfare against US and NATO troops. Most of the 80,000 Pakistani troops - mainly light infantrymen - deployed along the border with Afghanistan are based in Waziristan, and their withdrawal or confinement to barracks or designated checkpoints would leave the fiercely independent region open for infiltration to and from Afghanistan. "NATO's concern should be on the Afghan side (of the border)," Aslam said in an interview. "They should have no concern about any area in Pakistan."