Word: valley
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...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 week...
Scarcely 100 miles from the Pakistani capital, Taliban forces loyal to jihadist preacher (and former chairlift operator) Maulana Fazlullah have brutally advanced across Swat - a region once known as the "Switzerland of Asia" - capturing more than four-fifths of the plush valley. Once a choice destination for honeymooners, Swat has over the past two years seen more than 1,500 people killed, close to 200 schools destroyed and girls' education banned, scores of beheadings and kidnappings, and more than 100,000 people driven from their homes. (See pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province...
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...
According to the terms of the agreement, "all non-Shari'a laws" have been abrogated in Malakand. Security forces "will only act if fired upon by militants." And if the "writ of the state is restored," the army's 12,000 troops will be withdrawn from the valley. The agreement, which enjoys the support of President Asif Ali Zardari and the army, came about after talks with Islamist leader Sufi Mohammed - Fazlullah's father-in-law and rival...
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...