Swat Peace Deal - The Aftermath

[ejaz007]

Fazlullah declares indefinite ceasefire

* Asks his men to stop displaying weapons, end attacks on military vehicles
* Warns against fresh troop deployment, orders NGOs out
* Security forces block Taliban chief’s radio channel during speech

MINGORA: Swat Taliban declared an indefinite ceasefire in the valley on Tuesday, and freed four policemen and three Frontier Constabulary troops.

The decision was made in a meeting of the Taliban shura (council) on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said.

Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah announced the decision in a speech that was cut short when the security forces blocked the transmission of his FM radio channel.

He asked his men to stop displaying weapons, end their armed patrols and not to attack security convoys or abduct government officials, according to copies of the speech sent to the media.

He urged the government to restore all officials removed during the unrest in Swat.

A private TV channel said the security forces had imported equipment to jam the radio transmission and used it for the first time on Tuesday.

Fazlullah ordered his commanders to disband their checkpoints, which he said created “unnecessary problems” for residents.

Taliban had set up checkpoints in several areas of Swat where they checked all travellers. One security official expressed hope that the illegal checkpoints would be removed following the speech.

The Taliban chief also stopped all non-government organisations from operating in the valley until sharia law’s implementation.

“All NGOs should leave Swat because they are creating problems for peace,” Fazlullah said in the speech. But he added that emergency medical crews were exempt from the order.

It is not clear how many charities operate in the valley.

Fazlullah called on soldiers deployed in Swat to remain at their bases, vowing to retaliate against any troop increases.

No date has been announced for sharia law to take effect in the valley. It is not clear, either, how the system, which supporters say will be faster than the penal courts, will be implemented or who will be responsible for justice.

Meanwhile, more than 500 police officials returned to their duties in the valley following last week’s agreement between the NWFP government and Sufi Muhammad that includes the implementation of sharia law in Malakand division.

More policemen are expected to return to their offices in two days, the state-run APP news agency reported.

The move follows Malakand police chief’s announcement of ‘amnesty’ for the officials who had quit their jobs as Taliban took control of parts of the valley. staff report/ app/daily times monitor

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ejaz007]

Taliban end armed patrolling in Swat
Updated at: 1445 PST, Wednesday, February 25, 2009


SWAT: Taliban have announced to end armed patrolling in Swat in accordance with the peace deal signed between NWFP government and Taliban.

Earlier, Taliban had announced indefinite ceasefire and today they have announced end of armed patrolling.

The decision was announced by ameer of Swat Taliban Maluvi Fazllulah. Security forces took the control of security within the city and adjoining areas after the announcement.

Taliban end armed patrolling in Swat

 

[ishaq76]

bait ullah mehsud is US's secret weapon they give him intel abt pakistani troops position and many other helps, they have never shot any fanatic who is fighting against pakistan but those who sign deals with pakistan examples are mullah naik zaman and bajaur madrassa case. american's war on terror has made pakistan and afghanistan in particular and the world in general a very dangerous place to live

 

[ishaq76]

swat once heaven controlled by a religious fanatic.now we have hope that Mulana Sufi Muhammad has shown us. that was just another battle field which was fuled by many of our enemies. there is a clear message that don't allow such people to be active in your own locality. destroy them before they become powerful enough to destroy you. we pray this long unrest become over and pakistan again become a place full of peace

 

[RabzonKhan]

The fact is that, for all the claims made on their behalf, people there do not seek Shariah. Had they done so they would not have voted so overwhelmingly for ANP candidates who virtually swept polls in Swat just over a year ago. In many ways the truce with the TNSM is then a betrayal.

That's exactly what I've been saying this whole time!



Hardliners, moderates, liberals and the state

February 26, 2009
Kamila Hyat

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor

It is a telling testimony to the plight of Pakistan that a man such as Maulana Sufi Muhammad Khan, who broke away from the Jamaat-e-Islami in 1989 to form his pro-Taliban, pro-Jihadi Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) is now seen as a relative moderate by the political forces who have negotiated a truce with him in Swat.

Sufi Muhammad believes: "Those opposing the imposition of Shariah in Pakistan are Wajibul Qatal (worthy of death)." He is also fervently opposed to democracy, and declared when he set up his TNSM that "There is no room for vote in Islam and the concept of democracy, which some religio-political parties are demanding, is wrong." The TNSM has used violence to further its cause since 1994, when it first made its demand for the imposition of Shariah rule in Swat, blocked highways to press this forward and abducted and killed a sitting member of the provincial assembly. The distinct, camouflage waistcoats and sinister black turbans of the TNSM have since become a feared symbol across Swat.

But there are hard facts to be faced in the Pakistan of today. Compared to his wild-eyed son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, who assumed growing influence and power after Sufi was imprisoned following his return from Afghanistan in 2002 where he had taken a force of 10,000 young fighters to stage jihad, the TNSM chief remains a relative moderate. Fazlullah has been eager to overtake his father-in-law – who in May 2008 in fact publically disowned him. Sufi had been freed from jail by the ANP at the time in an initial effort to broker a truce in Swat. That effort floundered. Direct talks with Fazlullah, who is said to be strongly inspired by the examples of inhumanity set by the Afghan Taliban – apparently aiming to improve on their performance when it comes to beheadings, whippings, rape and terror – quickly gave way to renewed violence.

The latest peace deal, to which Fazlullah has, over the illegal radio station he continues to run, given a perhaps reluctant ascent, has come under fierce attack – with good reason. Striking accords with militants is a dangerous and highly undesirable business. In the past such truce agreements have been used by them only to regroup and launch new, more powerful assaults on state control. Giving in to their demands encourages others to emulate their example and use similar tactics to drive the government to its knees. In the agreement on Shariah, we do not know what, if any, provisions are contained within it to safeguard the basic rights of people. This is especially relevant in the context of women, who have suffered the most severe atrocities under militant command. There is also no word on whether militants who committed numerous acts of crazed depravity are to go scot free or whether any plan is in place to bring them to justice. Moreover, a dual system of law within the same state is simply unacceptable, leading to all kinds of problems. It also sets a dangerous precedent – with militants in Bajaur now too demanding a similar settlement.

The problem though is that politics, in practice, deals with realities and not ideals. It had become apparent that the military was unable – or unwilling – to win back Swat. The reasons why a force of over 12,000 should have been so completely overwhelmed by some 5,000 militants are for tacticians to ponder. The issue of commitment and will have all been raised at many levels, in Swat, in Peshawar, in Islamabad and in Washington. The NWFP government's decision to arm 30,000 selected villagers and create an elite police force of 2,500 seems to be a bid to break free of complete dependence on the military. But given that, for whatever reason, the militants had won the war in Swat, seizing control even of Mingora with no prospect of their being pushed back, the question is what options remained open to the government. Surely no democratic set up can be expected to allow helpless people to be bullied, bludgeoned, maimed and killed at will or watch silently week after week, month after month as blood flowed in what had become known as 'khooni chowk' in Mingora. What are the options for a government when the military fails against armed insurgents? What does it do when people plead desperately for help? The horrors of life in Swat under the militants are easy to forget in Lahore or Islamabad or Karachi. They are impossible to put aside or reduce to the abstract in Mingora, or Saidu Sharif or Miandam or Besham. The truce has been welcomed by people across Swat. Their opinions cannot be ignored, nor should endless resilience be demanded of them. Sometimes pragmatism, for the sake of people, must over-ride passion.

But principle must not be neglected or shelved indefinitely. It must remain at the centre of strategy. The deal, advocates say, has already driven a wedge between the fanatical forces of Fazlullah, and the TNSM of Sufi Mohammad Khan. The emphatic welcome for Sufi as he arrived in Swat from his native Dir is said to have forced Fazlullah to give in and agree to a 'permanent' truce, apparently after a series of hectic consultations at the expansive madressah complex in his native village of Mamdheray. It seems unlikely that the agreement will hold. The question is if the government can move swiftly to follow up what must be a time-winning strategy with concrete measures to win back Swat. The fact is that, for all the claims made on their behalf, people there do not seek Shariah. Had they done so they would not have voted so overwhelmingly for ANP candidates who virtually swept polls in Swat just over a year ago. In many ways the truce with the TNSM is then a betrayal.

Confusion is created by the constant, strident orders issued to Islamabad from distant capitals. The advice is not based on the interests of the country or its people. But the fact is that even Washington seems to be realizing indefinite war cannot win back Afghanistan. There is talk of truce with the Taliban. The question in Swat is how periods of calm can be used to win back the loyalties of people who have no regard for a state that they believe has consistently failed to offer them anything at all. These feelings in that region are exacerbated by the deep rooted belief that militants work in close cooperation with agencies. The tragic death of journalist Musa Khankhel, in an area controlled by militants, is thought by many to be an attempt by this unholy alliance to dampen the impact of the welcome for Sufi Muhammad.

There are many complexities. The agreement on Shariah rule is terrifying in terms of the implications it has for the rest of the country. It is also an outcome of the failure to bring tracts across the country into the mainstream of nationhood and offer them the same rights offered – at least in theory – to the majority of its citizens under the Constitution. Till 1969, Swat, under it's Wali, was ruled by a code that incorporated elements of Shariah. Failed by a system that has been unable to deliver even basic justice, it is this era that people seem most nostalgic for. The PATA (Provincially Administered Tribal Areas) regulation in Swat, struck down in 1994 by the Supreme Court, also contained aspects of Islamic law.

Dichotomies exist everywhere. Seven out of 24 districts of the NWFP are situated in PATA. These include Upper and Lower Dir, Swat, Chitral, Buner, Shangla and Malakand. There are seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). Absurdly, laws that protect people elsewhere do not extend to these territories. One example is the 2005 law banning 'Swara' or the handing over of women to settle a dispute between two parties. The unjust and dangerous precedent of permitting different legal codes to operate in different parts of the country is set by the state itself. The practice must be ended, people all over the country brought into a whole as equal citizens and an effort initiated to win back Swat as a part of Pakistan, not just in terms of control over its territory but also in terms of the loyalty and confidence of its 1.8 million people.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The Malakand imbroglio

By I.A. Rehman
26 Feb, 2009

The various parties responsible for or affected by the Malakand ceasefire deal appear to be concentrating on their short-term interests and there is little evidence of any effort to ponder over the long-term consequences of this month’s compromises.

The most happily placed, or the least confused, are the Malakand militants. Close on the heels of their moral victory over the government they demonstrated their control over the territory by making the Mingora DCO and his guards their involuntary guests.

They have only promised, as they had done in the summer of 2008, that they will not attack government establishments and personnel and the edict on female education has been slightly relaxed. They have won the freedom to operate freely, to enlarge their network and to deal with the population as they wish short of blood-shedding. They have made no pledge to give up arms and Maulana Sufi Mohammad’s appeal to them to do so is unlikely to be heeded. And they retain their FM radio channels which greatly helped them in mobilising their followers and frightening the public.

They have made no commitment to break with the Taliban in Fata, who have quickly established a unified command, or the Afghan Taliban. Their loyalty to the latter was a factor in the breakdown of the earlier accord. Nothing has been said about the political structure — the national and provincial assemblies, and the local bodies — except for the conclusion by implication that the MNAs/MPAs/nazims might be spared.

The fact that the truce-broker has condemned democracy and election as un-Islamic means that democratic institutions, like the law-enforcement agencies, will be at the militants’ sufferance.

The militants have accepted no obligation to have their lives and matters regulated by the new Nizam-i-Adl ordinance. It is clear that this ordinance will not be allowed to override the clerics’ interpretation of the Sharia. Above all the militants have offered no pledges to the provincial or federal government who will have no grounds, in terms of the deal, to challenge violations. The Taliban have entered into an agreement only with Maulana Sufi Mohammad and he does not have the means to force his writ on them.

The population of the Malakand Division is feeling relieved that some kind of normality has returned to their land. The fear of being asked to abandon their homes at short notice has receded. Businesses have been resumed and schools reopened. For many months they had been trapped in a crossfire between the militants and the military; now they have to deal with only one of them — the militants who may not display their guns. Most of them do not care who rules over them while some derive comfort from the thought that the Taliban commanders will soon become as manageable as yesteryear’s political agents.

At the moment, perhaps, they believe the Nizam-i-Adl Regulation 2009 may not cause them any more problems than the Regulations of 1994 and 1999. They may take time to register the difference the existence this time around of an organised force outside government and enjoying coercive power will make. Their faith in the state’s ability to protect them against the Taliban has already been grievously undermined and they may feel more vulnerable because no political force opposed to the Taliban is likely to be allowed to help them assert themselves. It is doubtful if the citizens, by and large, fully realise the bleakness of the future that has been prescribed for them.

The ANP-led government of the Frontier province is a party to the Malakand deal as well as one of its major victims. It is held responsible for authoring a deal decided upon by other parties and circumstances beyond its control. It is also accused of compromising its secular inclinations while in fact it has had to harvest the wild oats sown by a long line of its persecutors.

However, it can legitimately be blamed for betting on a military operation it could neither direct nor control, for hanging on to the trappings of power without any authority and for allowing its party faithfuls to be killed inside their poorly defended lairs instead of leading the masses in the streets.

All this could be forgiven and forgotten if the government had come up with something better than a dangerous plan to distribute guns. Will the provincial government have the resources to enforce its writ over the resurgent Taliban, keep the enforcement of Sharia within a purely judicial domain and prevent the process from spilling over into areas beyond Malakand Division? A tall order for any government in Pakistan!

The US is an important party that considers itself affected by the ceasefire deal. Its fears that the Afghan Taliban and militants from outside the region will find sanctuaries in the Malakand Division and that the bargaining position of the Taliban in Afghanistan will gain strength are quite justified.

However, to say that the Malakand type deal could be good for Afghanistan but not for Pakistan only betrays a lack of comprehension of the ground reality. References to a new US strategy on Afghanistan do not include a willingness to accept the Afghan people’s right to be the sole masters of their destiny and until that happens US hopes that Pakistan will be able to maintain order on its side are unrealistic. Under these circumstances, optimism will be at a discount.

All eyes are now on the federal government and the key issues are: a) whether it has learnt from decades of waywardness and b) whether it has the capacity to dam the flood many see coming. The government must accept the responsibility for creating the situation in which it had no alternative to knocking at Maulana Sufi Mohammad’s door for succour and it faces a four-point indictment.

First, the policy of appeasing the clergy through constitutional provisions and laws followed by all governments legitimised the militants’ demand for a Sharia regime. Secondly, by continuing the Afghan ‘jihad’ after the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan it sired a militant force and facilitated its growth.

Thirdly, no heed was paid to the right to cultural and political autonomy of a large Pakhtun community, purposely kept out of the national mainstream. And, finally, nothing was done to answer the tribal people’s rejection of Pakistan’s flawed justice system or their demand for speedy and inexpensive justice (phrases introduced by authoritarian regimes) and not taking proposals for courts of petty causes or alternative dispute resolution beyond loose ideas.

The all-important issue now is: how does the federal government plan to save the whole country going the Malakand way? Letting matters drift as they are will amount to resignation to a fate that could still be avoided. But no plan will work unless it decisively meets the four points on which the state has failed all these six decades. Such a plan can only be conceived and implemented by an effective coalition of democratic forces whose creation should be the goal of an unremitting struggle by civil society.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Taliban stop forces from entering Mingora

February 27, 2009

MINGORA: Suspected Taliban stopped a security forces convoy from entering Mingora by planting a roadside bomb in Balogram area on Thursday. The incident had been reported to Sufi Muhammad, the chief of Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM), sources said. They said the Malakand division commissioner, Sufi and representatives of the Taliban had started talks to sort out the matter. A source said “a secret hand” was planning to sabotage the recent peace deal. Sufi Muhammad said the government should withdraw all cases against people in Malakand and Kohistan districts. Talking to reporters, he said the security forces should inform them in advance to avoid repetition of such incidents in future. Over 700 policemen have resumed their duties in Swat. app/staff report

 

[S-2]

I think you should make certain to clear such movements of government security personnel with the taliban. Should they refuse for whatever reason you must not undertake any such plans.

How dare you actually act like that's your land. See FATA. See SWAT. See TALIBAN.

bye-bye to

 

[ajpirzada]

Situation fast returning to normalcy in Swat, over 700 policemen rejoin duties
PESHAWAR, Feb 26 (APP): The life is fast returning to normalcy as complete peace prevailed in the restive Swat district since the announcement regarding enforcement of Nizam e Adl Regulation eleven days back and over 700 policemen rejoined their duties and those suspended trying to restore their services.

The APP Swat Correspondent said that all the major trading centres, markets, bazaars, commercial banks, government, semi government offices and educational institutes were opened on Thursday. Usual business was witnessed at all the trading centres in major towns of Mingora city and suburban areas.

The migrants have started returning back to their native places after restoration of peace in the valley. The relief goods loaded in 20 trucks sent by the Punjab Government were distributed among the affected families.

The Police sources informed that all the police check posts and Police Station would be revived shortly. Similarly traffic police have resumed duties at their respective place of posting.

Chief of TNSM Maulana Sufi Muhammad in a chat with the newsmen in Mingora said that decisions in under trial cases in the courts of Malakand Division would be taken after enforcement of Nizam e Adl regulation. He aid that he would continue his struggle for restoration of peace till death. He said that all steps in this regard would be taken in consultation with government.

To a question, he said he was in constant touch with the Swat Taliban and the government’s representatives and appealed to the Taliban to show flexibility in their ranks so that peace could prevail and Nizam e Adl implemented.

Meanwhile a delegation of TNSM called on Commissioner Malakand Division where in various matters concerning peace was deliberated upon.

Briefing newsmen about the meeting, spokesman of TNSM Amir Izzat Khan that Commissioner Malakand Division was requested to open Mulla Baba and Engaro Dherai roads. It also discussed Nizam e Adl regulation. The peace camp of TNSM has been established at Tableeghi Markaz Mingora.

Joint Secretary of ANP and senior member Amn Jirga

Ibrahim Khan Deolai was heavily garlanded by the people upon reaching

Landakai, border area of Swat district who was released after seven

months of captivity. In his brief interaction with the media‑men on

this occasion, he said, his party always stood for peace and would

remain work for it.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Situation fast returning to normalcy in Swat, over 700 policemen rejoin duties

 

[RabzonKhan]

The price of justice

By Ayesha Siddiqa
Friday, 27 Feb, 2009

EVERYONE wants justice in Pakistan including the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the lawyers, Mukhtaran Mai and ordinary people.

However, the only group that eventually got the government to agree to implement a system of justice they wanted — and popularly called the nizam-i-adl — is the Swati Taliban. So, the moral of our story is that justice will be granted to the most brutal bidder.

The rule of thumb now is that political space will only be created with the help of guns. We might also see Islamabad concede to the demands of the Baloch nationalists, especially the Baloch Liberation Army. The timing of the peace agreement is interesting as it came right before Islamabad’s crackdown on its political rivals in Punjab. It was almost as if one front had to be silenced so that the other could be activated.

The Swat peace deal is being rationalised on the basis that this is what the people in Swat want. No doubt, the people of Swat want peace. It is not easy to survive the onslaught of the Taliban or the bombardment by military forces.

However, it is interesting that the government seems to lump the innocent Swati people’s demand for peace with a desire for the new legal system that was once demanded by Sufi Mohammad and now by Fazlullah. The people of Swat would be equally happy and satisfied with an arrangement where the government tried to implement its writ without making deals with murderers. This is not a popularity contest in Swat as some sections of the media would have us believe. People are bound to accept a legal system negotiated by those who use violence as a tool when the government is absent and unable to impose its writ on everyone.

Forget about the political government, even the military is not willing to challenge this violent group. Reportedly, instead of jamming Fazlullah’s radio the army now has plans to start a counter programme. This means that they will allow Maulana Radio the space to air his views and just try to challenge his ideas, which, in turn, means legitimising his propaganda.

Again, it is not odd for people to want a system of justice that can be delivered in the minimum time and at the minimum cost. But then, the demand for the Sharia and timely and cost-effective justice are two separate things. It is no secret that people all over the country want improvement in the judicial system that has completely collapsed due to official intervention and rampant corruption in the judiciary. The problem of affordable justice not being found across the length and breadth of Pakistan exists not because of the specific type of law but due to the fact that the more powerful and affluent do not allow institutions to function.

Why should one expect that it would begin to work in Swat just because of an agreement between the Swati jihadis and the provincial government? If the same judges become qazis, as the provincial chief minister would have us believe, then what would stop them from extorting money from ordinary people? There will possibly be greater extortion because now people would pay to avoid their hands or heads being chopped off.

And what about Fazlullah and his men who have spilt a lot of innocent blood? Will the system of justice apply to them as well? Maybe not because Fazlullah did not get into an agreement to be tried and hanged by a court of law. And we can’t forget that the one force that would ensure that the qazis work and deliver justice is Fazlullah who would see to it that any qazi who deviating from his duty was killed the same way as journalist Musa Khankhel. Interestingly, the NWFP chief minister tells us that de-weaponisation by the Fazlullah gang is a minor procedural issue which will be resolved after peace is restored and life returns to normalcy in Swat. No details are offered about the agreement not even on the issue of who will define the Sharia and make sure that it is implemented in letter and spirit.

What credibility do we attach to the guarantors who would have to ensure that the agreement works and does not collapse? Is Sufi Mohammad, a man who led thousands of innocent young men to their death in Afghanistan during the 1990s, credible in this regard? Some have suggested that the answer lies in limiting the jihadis to enclaves and slowly implementing the writ of the state, firstly through the system of qazi courts and then by bringing in police stations and other law and order agencies to carry out the sentences of these courts. But then we are assuming that Fazlullah and his gang will have nothing to do with defining the system of governance. Sufi Mohammad has already stated that he considers democracy to be anti-Islam and Fazlullah has said that peace will only depend on the army withdrawing from Swat.

Those who support the above strategy might have been inspired by the results in Sri Lanka where the once powerful LTTE has finally been cornered and almost eliminated. But the success of the Sri Lankan government and the military’s strategy have depended on a combination of factors such as the flaws in LTTE’s planning, a consensus within all segments of government that the LTTE has to be suppressed and the building of a sound strategy that has ensured inter-services coordination amongst the three services of the armed forces.

The primary flaw in the LTTE’s plans was the desire to mould political credibility through taking recourse in negotiations with the involvement of the international community rather than just depending on the use of force. So, there were many occasions when it had to scale down its attacks on Colombo. Unfortunately, Fazlullah has no such plans. He is certainly not amenable to international players and does not desire to transform his force into a political one unless his handlers want him to do so. Obviously, the other option is to let the proclaimed agreement drag on until the snows thaw and Fazlullah and his forces regroup for another long battle.

What is most amazing at this stage, however, is how critical segments of society are willing to forget about hundreds of wasted innocent lives to sell an illusory peace.

The writer is an independent strategic and political analyst.

 

[Anwar2]

Swat Taliban are not as brutal baboons as commonly believed. Their style of governance is by far more pluralistic and inclusive than the Wadera Raj in Sindh; and MQM's fascist setup in Karachi.

The only difference is that the brutalities in Sindh and Southern Punjab are sanctioned by the government.

 

[RabzonKhan]

The Taliban are mentally sick and are not normal human beings. When will our rulers realize that such a flawed deal is not going to work.


Taliban kidnap Pakistani officer, bodyguards: officials

1 hour ago

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Suspected Taliban militants Sunday kidnapped a paramilitary officer and five bodyguards in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where a fragile ceasefire has held for two weeks, security officials said.

The army also lodged a "strong protest" after soldiers were ambushed in the northwest region -- just hours after a pro-Taliban cleric who signed a deal with the government voiced frustrations over implementation of the agreement.

The kidnapped officer was travelling to Swat's main city of Mingora when his vehicle was stopped by scores of armed militants at a checkpoint in the Qamber area, an official said.

"Hassam Ud Din, a district officer in the Frontier Constabulary, along with his five bodyguards and vehicle were taken by the militants in Qamber," regional police chief Dilawar Bangash told AFP.

"We are sure the Taliban kidnapped him," he added.

An intelligence official told AFP that up to 150 armed people had set up a checkpoint in a place where the officer was snatched.

There was no immediate claim for the incident and the Taliban were not immediately reachable for comment.

Last Sunday armed militants briefly detained a district coordination officer and six bodyguards at a checkpoint in Mingora before releasing them unharmed.

The Pakistani government accepted the ceasefire with Islamic militants in the Swat Valley after a bloody two-year campaign by hardliners that included bombing girls' schools, beheading opponents and curbing entertainment.

The sharia deal has triggered alarm in the United States, Europe, Afghanistan and India, amid concerns it will embolden militants in the province, which is rife with Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

The army said separately that a convoy of security forces transporting an unwell soldier was attacked Sunday with roadside bombs and small arms fire near Sarsanai, in Kabal town, a known Taliban stronghold.

"One soldier was injured. The security forces have lodged a strong protest with the concerned," the army said in a statement.

Local administration officials blamed the Taliban but a spokesman for hardline cleric Soofi Mohammad, who signed the sharia deal, said the incident stemmed from a "misunderstanding."

Mohammad, who promised peace in Swat if the government allowed sharia law to be implemented, warned Sunday he wanted Islamic courts set up in two weeks.

"The government announced enforcement of sharia but so far no practical step has been taken and we are not satisfied," Mohammad told reporters.

He said he was also unhappy over a delay in a prisoner swap and urged the Taliban and the government to release people they were holding by mid-March.

 

[ejaz007]

Sufi sets deadline for Nizam-e-Adl implementation

* TNSM chief dissatisfied with progress on enforcement of sharia
* Sufi’s spokesman blames troops for attack on convoy

PESHAWAR: Swat cleric Sufi Muhammad – who has promised peace in the troubled Swat valley if the government implanted the sharia law – warned on Sunday he wanted Islamic courts set up in two weeks.

He said he was not happy over the fact that there had been no tangible progress since February 16 when the NWFP government agreed to implement the Shari Nizam-e-Adl – a new system of justice in the restive valley.

“The government announced enforcement of sharia but so far no practical step has been taken and we are not satisfied,” Sufi told reporters in Swat’s main town Mingora.

“I’m not seeing any practical steps for the implementation of the peace agreement, except for ministers visiting Swat and uttering words,” the elderly cleric said.

He said he was also unhappy over a delay in an exchange of prisoners and urged both the Taliban and the government to release people they were holding by March 10.

“If the government does not appoint Qazis [Islamic judges] by March 15, and the two sides do not release prisoners in their custody, we will set up protest camps,” he said.

The warning came only four days after Swat Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah agreed to an indefinite ceasefire.

The cleric said armed patrol by either side would not be allowed after March 1 (Sunday), and anybody who violated the truce would be charged and punished in line with the sharia law.

Attack: Later, Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the security forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce. saleem athar/afp

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[RabzonKhan]

Sufi sets deadline for Nizam-e-Adl implementationAttack: Later, Sufi’s spokesman Ameer Izzat Khan blamed the security forces for an attack on a troop convoy in Swat earlier in the day. He said the soldiers had not given prior information of their movement in accordance with the terms of the truce. saleem athar/afp

How interesting, so from now on our troops will have to inform terrorists for their movements, in our own country?!

 

[S-2]

How dare your army fail to understand that it's movements in SWAT must be cleared by Faizullah, Mohammad, et al. Incomprehensible that your army should be so blatantly rude.

Better do what the militants say and meet their requirements promptly. FATA isn't yours. Now SWAT and the rest of Malakand isn't either. Can you guess what follows?