9 Apr 2009, 2157 hrs IST, PTI
ISLAMABAD: A peace deal between Taliban and authorities in Pakistan's restive Swat valley appeared headed for a collapse on Thursday as a
frustrated cleric, who brokered the ceasefire accord, said he will quit the region to protest the government's failure to impose strict Islamic law or Sharia.
Sufi Muhammad, the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah who is the Taliban's chief in Swat, said that he was leaving the picturesque region in "protest" and claimed that there cannot be peace in Swat without enforcement of the strict Sharia law.
"I am ending my peace camp in Swat. From now on President (Asif Ali) Zardari will be responsible for any situation in Swat," Muhammad, founder of Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e- Muhammadi (TNSM) which facilitated the peace deal between the Taliban and government, told reporters in Swat.
Zardari has said that he will not allow enforcement of the Islamic law in Swat till peace is restored completely.
With the deal, the area would come under sharia law, which -- under the Taliban's strict interpretation -- would prevent women from even being seen in public without their husbands or fathers.
Imposition of Islamic law is one of the main demands of the Taliban, who reached the peace deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government in February, ending 18 months of violence in the region that left hundreds of people dead.
Fazlullah also complained that the talks with the authorities were going on for the past two months, but still there was no progress about enforcement of Sharia.
"So far no Qazis have been appointed in Malakand. We are still negotiating with the provincial government. The federal government is not working on the deal. It has already been two months and no progress has been made," he said.
The pact has been widely criticised by Western powers, including the US, which said it will embolden the Taliban.
"Our Shura (council of elders) will decide our next strategy. We will go back to our central office," he said, adding it is up to the government now to contact his group.
Sufi Muhammad said he would convert his "peace camps" in Swat into "protest camps" as the federal government was not serious about enforcing Nizam-e-Adal or Islamic law regulations. He urged Zardari to approve the implementation of Shariah in Swat as soon as possible.
The government will be responsible if the law and order situation in the area deteriorates, Muhammad told a news conference in Swat. However, he made it clear that he was not withdrawing from the peace deal in Swat. Muhammad has already set up Qazi or Islamic courts across Swat though the President is yet to ratify the Nizam-e-Adal regulations.
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