Islamabad - A radical cleric who has mediated a deal between
local Taliban and the government in Pakistan's north-western Swat
valley announced Thursday he was pulling out of the peace talks, a
move that could lead to a resurgence of violence in the region.
Maulana Sufi Mohammad said he was leaving Swat district because
the government failed to implement the February agreement under which
it promised to establish Islamic courts in return for an end to the
militant's insurgency.
'We have established peace in Swat as much as we could but the
only way to durable peace is the Islamic judicial system that the
government has not established so far,' his spokesman Izzat Khan told
reporters in Mingora, the main town in Swat.
But while Khan said that the peace accord was still in place,
local politicians expect it to collapse with its main mediator gone.
'The peace deal is almost history. Maulana Sufi Mohammad left the
place because he could not deliver peace. But we will also blame the
[President Asif Ali] Zardari government which hesitated from
approving the agreement mainly because of pressure from the
Americans,' said a local lawmaker who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Mohammad on February 16 announced the agreement with the North
West Frontier Province's (NWFP) regional government, to end a
16-month armed campaign to enforce Taliban rule led by his son-in law
Maulana Fazlullah.
The campaign left hundreds of militants and dozens of security
personnel killed and tens of thousands of civilians displaced.
Following the February agreement Mohammad set up a peace camp in
Mingora and convinced Taliban to respect the deal.
The accord has yet to be approved by Zardari, who made complete
peace in Swat a precondition. Swat used to be a popular tourist
destination, located some 140 kilometres north-west of Islamabad.
Little interested in laying down their weapons, the Taliban used
the peace process to consolidate their control over the district and
capture nearby areas.
However, Mohammad's spokesman said Zardari and the central
government were to be blamed if the violence returned to Swat.
'President Zardari should have signed it immediately to avoid the
problem.'
The Swat agreement is the latest in a series of peace deals
Pakistan's government struck with Islamist insurgents under its
botched effort to make peace with the Taliban since it joined and
international alliance against terrorism following al-Qaeda's attacks
on United States in 2001.
Western countries and Pakistani liberal circles were opposed to
the deal saying it only gave opportunity to the militants to
re-organize and extend their influence over more areas.
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