Pakistan peace deal with Taliban in Swat valley to collapse

Apr 9, 2009, 13:48 GMT

   Islamabad - A radical cleric who has mediated a deal between local Taliban and the government in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley announced Thursday he was pulling out of the peace talks, a move that could lead to a resurgence of violence in the region.

   Maulana Sufi Mohammad said he was leaving Swat district because the government failed to implement the February agreement under which it promised to establish Islamic courts in return for an end to the militant's insurgency.

   'We have established peace in Swat as much as we could but the only way to durable peace is the Islamic judicial system that the government has not established so far,' his spokesman Izzat Khan told reporters in Mingora, the main town in Swat.

But while Khan said that the peace accord was still in place, local politicians expect it to collapse with its main mediator gone.

'The peace deal is almost history. Maulana Sufi Mohammad left the place because he could not deliver peace. But we will also blame the [President Asif Ali] Zardari government which hesitated from approving the agreement mainly because of pressure from the Americans,' said a local lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mohammad on February 16 announced the agreement with the North West Frontier Province's (NWFP) regional government, to end a 16-month armed campaign to enforce Taliban rule led by his son-in law Maulana Fazlullah.

   The campaign left hundreds of militants and dozens of security personnel killed and tens of thousands of civilians displaced.

   Following the February agreement Mohammad set up a peace camp in Mingora and convinced Taliban to respect the deal.

   The accord has yet to be approved by Zardari, who made complete peace in Swat a precondition. Swat used to be a popular tourist destination, located some 140 kilometres north-west of Islamabad.

   Little interested in laying down their weapons, the Taliban used the peace process to consolidate their control over the district and capture nearby areas.

   However, Mohammad's spokesman said Zardari and the central government were to be blamed if the violence returned to Swat. 'President Zardari should have signed it immediately to avoid the problem.'

   The Swat agreement is the latest in a series of peace deals Pakistan's government struck with Islamist insurgents under its botched effort to make peace with the Taliban since it joined and international alliance against terrorism following al-Qaeda's attacks on United States in 2001.

   Western countries and Pakistani liberal circles were opposed to the deal saying it only gave opportunity to the militants to re-organize and extend their influence over more areas.