Pakistan has signed a peace deal with a Taleban group that will lead to the enforcement of the Islamic Sharia law in the restive Swat valley.
Regional officials urged the Taleban, who agreed a 10-day truce on Sunday, to lay down their arms permanently.
Once one of Pakistan’s most popular holiday destinations, the Swat valley is now mostly under Taleban control.
Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed since the Taleban insurgency in 2007.
Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province Ameer Hussain Hoti announced a bill had been signed that would implement a new “order of justice” in the Malakand division, which includes Swat.
The bill will create a separate system of justice for the whole region.
The BBC’s M Ilyas Khan, who was recently in Swat, says the Taleban had already set up their own system of Islamic justice, as they understand it.
 |
 [The deal] was reached after realisation that it was the demand of the people  Ameer Hussain Hoti,
NWFP chief minister  |
Their campaign against female education has led to tens of thousands of children being denied an education, our correspondent says.
US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, who is in India, said he needed more information on the deal but that the situation in Swat had “deeply affected the people of Pakistan, not just in Peshawar but in Lahore and in Islamabad”.
Mr Holbrooke said Swat “demonstrates a key point and that is that India, the United States and Pakistan have all a common threat now… [we] all face an enemy which possesses a direct threat to our leadership”.
‘Very positive’
 |
The government of North West Frontier Province had been holding talks with local militant leader, Sufi Mohammad, on making amendments to the enforcement of Sharia in Swat.Sufi Mohammad, a pro-Taleban cleric, is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who has been waging a violent campaign to impose Sharia in the region.
Mr Hoti said: “An agreement has been reached with Sufi Mohammad’s delegation and this is a great
“The recommendations and proposals have been finalised, but they can only be implemented after peace is achieved.”
Mr Hoti said President Asif Ali Zardari had “in principle… approved this package”.
Mr Hoti said the agreement had not been made “under pressure from anyone” and was not unconstitutional.
“It was reached after realisation that it was the demand of the people.”
The chief minister said the government had done all it could and asked for the Taleban to now lay down their arms.
He said a grand jirga (council) led by Sufi Mohammad would now be going to Swat to get all the factions to comply.
The Taleban have said they will examine the document before ending hostilities permanently.
The Agence France-Presse news agency quoted Sufi Mohammad as saying: “We had been holding negotiations with the government on a 22-point charter of demands for quite some time. There were differences on five points, which were removed in a meeting on Sunday.”
Many people have fled Swat to be in safer parts of Pakistan
|
Sharia law has been in force in Malakand since 1994. But appeal cases are heard in the Peshawar high court, which operates under the civil code.Our correspondent says there will be alterations to the appeals process – a point of contention often cited by the militants for their continued insurgency.
The agreement will bind the provincial government to implement Sharia law in the Malakand division, which comprises Swat and its adjoining areas.
The people of Swat have been caught in the crossfire between the army and the Taleban, our correspondent says.
More than 1,000 civilians have died in shelling by the army or from beheadings sanctioned by the Taleban. Thousands more have been displaced.
The Taleban now control the entire countryside of Swat, limiting army control to parts of the valley’s capital, Mingora.
Many people in Swat now would favour an early exit by the army as they have failed to roll back the Taleban or protect the Taleban’s opponents, says our correspondent.
I cannot believe that the PPP would go for this… so basically we have given up on a portion of our country…. another generation of tens of thousands will grow up with no education making that just a matter of time before they take over and enforce their version of what Islam is to the rest of the country if the present generation doesn’t do it…. any comments on the new deal that Pakistan’s govt has made with the Taliban?
Comment by ayeshahalam — February 18, 2009 @ 9:07 am |
Before this deal was actually announced, there have been suggestions by analysts and diplomats alike that “Taliban can only be defeated politically rather than militarily” but when a deal is actually made, we have only criticism to offer as is our habit. Surely, much rests on the government’s firmness in eliciting actual peace from the militants. But remember, political headway can only be made in a peaceful environment, not in the midst of armed strikes from both sides.
Comment by rhodoraonline — February 18, 2009 @ 9:15 pm |
I think we should let the fundos be fundos. We can’t change them and their beliefs. Dealing with irrationality with logic is stupidity. We should put them in a quarantine like state without them knowing it and eventually they would all blow each other up someday. I just read a Dawn news article that the Sufi guy is on some kind of a peace march and wants the taliban to lay down arms. Lay down arms? Militants vowed to murder and kill in the name of Islam would lay down arms?
Comment by farhan — February 19, 2009 @ 9:56 am |
Although I am not in favor of permitting talibanization but this step seems to be right one as there are many concealed factors involved. One being the most vital is RAW. RAW has been using this so called uprising and chaos to its advantage and to make situation worse for Pakistan. This deal would have setback their plans. I agree with the other poster that this issue should be dealt politically rather than militarily. Lets just hope for the good.
Comment by Atif — February 19, 2009 @ 11:19 am |
pakistan must have agreed earlier…. Its their right if we look at the history
Comment by Lahore — February 20, 2009 @ 4:00 pm |
The Taliban gaining ascendancy is good neither for India nor for Pakistan.
However, they will cause damage to Pakistan first. It is important for all those who value liberal ideals to oppose the Taliban with all their might.
Comment by Milind Kher — March 2, 2009 @ 10:28 pm |
this not that PPP has done this all matter is parliament did that and parliament is supreme pakistan democratic government is now delivering and it has become the voice of common people it was in the best interest of nation that make such peace deals to calms down that militancy in the area its not that pakistani government is getting weak against these extremist element but we have seen that the military action wasn’t the working the common people were being killed and schools were burnt and some other force was taking advantage of all this the indian raw was active in the area and this was whole messed up this deal will make the things clear. violence is solution to nothing rather it gives birth to another violence. so this is what the locals if swat wanted and parliament acted according to the wish of people of affected area. military action did nothing except killing our own people and making them angry and become more inclined toward the militancy and supporter of taliban so people of the area are happy now and that was the need of hour.
Comment by farhan umer — April 13, 2009 @ 11:43 pm |
Friday, April 24, 2009
Increasing Instability in Pakistan Puts Minorities at Risk as Taliban Executes Two Christians in Karachi, Pakistan
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ANS) — An international Christian human rights watchdog organization has learned that the Taliban, emboldened by their success in Swat Valley and advance near Islamabad, have attacked a Christian neighborhood and executed two residents after Christians held a rally protesting graffiti ordering them to convert to Islam or die.
International Christian Concern (ICC) — http://www.persecution.org — says that on April 20, residents of Taseer Town in Karachi woke up to find pro-Taliban messages chalked onto the walls of two churches.
In a media release, ICC says the messages included, “Long Live the Taliban,” “Talibanization is our goal,” and “Embrace Islam or Prepare to Die.”
ICC says the next day, the Christian residents staged a protest in the hopes of attracting the attention of the local government to provide protection. Officials, however, did nothing.
The media release states: “The night of the protest, April 21, more than 100 masked terrorists invaded Taseer Town with automatic rifles. The terrified Christian residents ran to their homes and locked themselves inside.”
According to Asif Stephen, a Christian politician, one of the protesters said, “We were protesting peacefully and all of sudden, a few militants carrying the latest weapons rushed in. Some of the attackers entered homes and pillaged money and jewelry and abused the women and burned their properties. The elderly were injured and one child fell to the ground and died in my friend’s arms.”
ICC reports the Taliban militants went door to door, breaking into Christian homes and dragging the elderly and the women out into the street by their hair.
The Taliban leaders shouted, “You infidels have to convert to Islam or die. Why did you wash up warnings inscribed on walls of church and home doors? How dare you are to take out procession against Taliban?”
ICC also reports the terrorists sexually assaulted several women and physically abused dozens more with clubs, iron rods, and whips.
“They set a number of homes on fire. When two Christians resisted, the militants killed them execution-style directly in front of their families. The identity of those killed has not yet been confirmed,” the media release explained.
According to AsiaNews, police have arrested seven of the Taliban militants involved in the attack. However, they are unsure who was behind the incident.
Jeremy Sewall, ICC’s Advocacy Director, said: “The Pakistani government has created an opening for terrorists to attack Christians indiscriminately by acceding to their demands in the Swat Valley.
“Formerly, Christians in the major cities of Pakistan experienced discrimination, but up till now they had not had to fear threats of forced conversion or execution on a wide scale. This attack is a harbinger of worse to come if the Pakistani government continues to cower in the face of Muslim radicals.”
ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
Comment by STUART — April 26, 2009 @ 4:02 am |