Closure of Pakistan military posts demanded under peace deal background (Roundup)

Feb 23, 2009, 12:31 GMT

   Islamabad - A Muslim cleric who signed a peace deal with the Pakistan government demanded on Monday the closure of army posts in the north-western Swat valley and an exchange of prisoners with Taliban militants who have been fighting security forces for the last 16 months.

   Maulana Sufi Mohammad also urged Taliban insurgents to end their armed patrols in the area, stop searching vehicles and hindering the movement and supplies of the troops.

   The statement came a day after Islamist insurgents swapped a senior government administrator and his six guards for three of their comrades.

   Mohammad was addressing the first press conference since last Monday when he signed a peace accord with the regional government in North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to bring peace in Swat and surrounding areas in exchange for enforcement of Islamic sharia law.

   He has held talks with his son-in-law, rebel commander Maulana Fazlullah, who has waged an armed campaign to enforce Taliban rule in Swat since 2007, prompting a security operation by government forces.

   Besides hundreds of militants and government troops, more than 1,200 civilians are believed to have been killed in nearly 16 months of fighting in Swat, which used to be a popular tourist destination for its serene settings and trout streams.

   The Taliban are observing a 10-day ceasefire that ends on Wednesday. A government official announced a 'permanent ceasefire,' but Fazlullah said their Shura council would consider any extension to the truce once their own deadline was passed.

   Pakistan has hoped that under the controversial peace agreement Mohammad would use his influence on his son-in-law Fazlullah to abandon violence and let the government restore its writ in the region.

   The cleric asked the Taliban not to interfere in the working of the government officials so that the peace should be restored to enforce Islamic Sharia.

   But a minister in the NWFP said the army troops would not be withdrawn unless militants lay down arms. 'We will accept the demand only after Taliban take practical steps to bring peace to Swat,' said Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

   The peace accord has led to a general calm to the volatile region though there have been a few violations of the truce.

   On Sunday the militants abducted a senior district official and exchanged him for their colleagues.

   Khushhal Khan, who was designated as the head of Swat's administration, was kidnapped Sunday along with his police escort by gunmen on the outskirts Mingora, the main town of the district, and held captive in the Qamber area for several hours.

   Khan was travelling to Mingora to assume his new position.

   'We have released the official and his six guards in exchange for our two colleagues,' the English-language Dawn newspaper quoted Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan as saying. Khan said a third militant would also be freed soon.

   'The government violated the agreement by arresting our men in Peshawar and killing one in Dir. Therefore, we had to do this,' Khan said.

   The rebels are currently holding more than 100 government employees and security personnel.