Word: swats
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...commanders have long expressed frustration at the failure of the Pakistani military to prevent Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters maintaining sanctuaries in Pakistan from which they can launch attacks inside Afghanistan. But Pakistan's announcement on Monday of a peace agreement to accommodate the domestic Taliban insurgency in the Swat Valley suggests that an all-out war against militants on their soil is not what Pakistan's generals have in mind. And the supply lines that funnel food, fuel and war materiel to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, already imperiled by militant attacks in Pakistan, may face a further setback this...
Speaking at a news conference in Peshawar, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister of the North-West Frontier Province, said on Monday that Shari'a law would be introduced to the Malakand division (which includes the Swat Valley), but only once the area is peaceful. The Taliban tentatively welcomed the decision, announcing a 10-day cease-fire on Sunday...
Government officials argue that by imposing Shari'a law, Islamabad is merely bowing to what is a popular local demand. The Swat Valley was traditionally a princely state that operated its own tribal system of governance until its merger with Pakistan in 1969. One of the factors that appears to have contributed to Fazlullah's ascent was his call for a return to a Shari'a-based system that offers swift justice and, therefore, relief from what many allege is Pakistan's venal police and court system. By stealing a march on Fazlullah, the government believes that...
...unclear what Mohammed's precise role will be, or how much leverage he has in Swat. The militant leader emerged as a force in the mid-1990s, when his loyalists, sporting black turbans, seized control of buildings and courthouses before the government of then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was able to tame the revolt and sign a truce. In late 2001, Mohammed led thousands of young men - including Fazlullah - to Afghanistan to fight the Western forces that had invaded in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Upon their return, Mohammed was arrested and imprisoned. His release last year was contingent...
...violation of the constitution. It also shows that if movements are armed and militant, you can succeed." Her fears were reinforced on Sunday night, when Muslim Khan, Fazlullah's spokesman, said that it remains the Taliban's ambition to establish their brand of Islamic law not just in Swat but throughout the world...