Word: pakistan
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...Smile, you're in Swat," reads a billboard on the main road into the lush green honeymooners' valley in Pakistan once dubbed the "Switzerland of Asia." But over the past two years, Swat has been turned into a playground for the Taliban. And it may be the Taliban and their fellow Islamists who have the biggest reason to smile as a result of the Pakistani government's decision last week to end its floundering military campaign there and instead accept the Taliban's demand for the imposition of Islamic Shari...
...Critics are alarmed by an agreement they fear will attack the rights of women, create a parallel legal system, encourage Islamist insurgencies elsewhere in Pakistan and even create a safe haven for a wider spectrum of militants. Still, many locals have welcomed the deal for the stability it promises. "We are happy that there is a chance for peace now," said Mohammed Tariq, 36, a thickly bearded cafeteria worker who blamed the Taliban for spreading fear and the army for alienating the population by inflicting a heavy toll in civilian casualties. "We hope that it doesn't fail." Like many...
...pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province...
...young, unemployed men suddenly found status as local commanders with large salaries from Fazlullah's mysteriously deep pockets. (Conspiracy theories abound as to the source of his largesse.) But the key to his success, say local observers, was Fazlullah's ability to exploit local resentment at the failings of Pakistan's venal judicial system, in which complainants routinely found justice deferred or denied...
...Less clear is whether the Taliban will accept those terms. On Saturday night, after two days of talks with his father-in-law, Fazlullah, in a speech carried live by Pakistan's main news channels, said his cohorts were still discussing Mohammed's proposals. "We will consult again after the 10-day cease-fire ... We will also observe a permanent cease-fire if the government takes practical steps," he said without elaborating...