Two days ago I wrote about the condition of the Talibans to ending violence (implementing Shariah Law) had been accepted by the Pakistani Government. The latter insists that this can’t be seen as a “sign of the Government’s weakness”. No, I would only consider that possibility is the Government and the Taliban were the same… Are they?
Pakistani President Asif Zardari has said he will sign an order implementing Sharia law in Swat valley only after peace has been fully reached there.
President Zardari’s spokesman said that this would require the laying down of arms by Islamic militants.
Meanwhile, pro-Taleban cleric Sufi Mohammad has arrived in the Swat valley to try to convince local Taleban leaders to agree to the deal (they were the ones who asked for Sharia Law to be implemented and now they have to be convinced about laying down their weapons? Are they kidding?).
Locals have largely welcomed it but critics say it is unacceptable (Gee, just the same… weren’t they the ones who asked for Sharia Law to be implemented. Another example of reality: terrorists are never going to stop asking if they see they can obtain more. They have obtained this without many insistence, so they are going to ask for more. And remember they asked for the Sharia Law to abrogate ALL civil laws).
Sufi Mohammad is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, the current head of the Taleban in Swat (everything is done inside the family).
(…) They believe introducing a separate system of justice sets a dangerous precedent for other militias in parts of Pakistan.
Information Minister Sherry Rehman denied the government had made any “concession”.
“It is in no way a sign of the state’s weakness. The public will of the population of the Swat region is at the centre of all efforts and it should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement,” she said (no, of course not, it’s a sign of the strenght of the Government. This woman is absolutely idiot) .
(…) The NWFP government now hopes that a grand jirga (council) led by Sufi Mohammad will be able to persuade all the factions to comply.
The Taleban have said they will examine the document before ending hostilities permanently.
More than 1,000 civilians have died in shelling by the army or from beheadings sanctioned by the Taleban. Thousands more have been displaced.
via BBC NEWS | South Asia | Zardari details Swat peace terms.
The New English Review has some words uttered by Sufi Mohammad:
Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad, who signed a controversial peace deal with the NWFP government on Monday, said he hated democracy and wanted supremacy of Islam over the entire world.
“From the very beginning, I have viewed democracy as a system imposed on us by the infidels. Islam does not allow democracy or elections,” he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur in an interview held a few days before the government accepted his demand of enforcing sharia in the region.
A really outstanding partner to negotiate with…
Read also ekawaaz’s post on the subject. It’s really worth it.
Things can get even more complicated after the murder of a journalist in Swat:
Khankhel, 28, was kidnapped while covering the peace rally and his bullet-riddled body was found a few hours later.
(…)The journalist’s body was found in the nearby area of Dedpani. According to witnesses, he had been shot 12 times. His hands and feet had been tied.
(…)
It said in a statement: “A journalist has become the first victim after the peace deal in Swat, which is most alarming.”
It called on the government to investigate the murder and punish those involved.
President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
A Taleban spokesman said it was “the work of those forces who want to sabotage peace efforts”.
Hundreds of journalists held demonstrations in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi.
In Islamabad, demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and said Khankhel’s sacrifice would not go in vain.
In Lahore, reporters and photographers marched to the provincial legislature and called for more protection to be given to journalists.
A very bad sign indeed… 
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