DAWN.COM: ISLAMABAD: Taliban militants are setting up checkpoints in a district next to Swat Valley, officials and witnesses said Wednesday, spurring fears that a government-backed peace deal imposing Islamic law in the area has emboldened the insurgents to expand their reign.
Reports that the top government official in another adjacent district was kidnapped by militants added to the growing concern.
Pakistan’s president signed off on the peace pact last week in hopes of calming Swat, where some two years worth of clashes between the Taliban and security forces have killed hundreds and displaced up to a third of the one-time tourist haven’s 1.5 million residents.
The agreement covers the Malakand region, which comprises roughly one-third of NWFP, a strategic stretch that runs along the Afghan border and bumps into the tribal areas where al Qaeda and the Taliban reportedly have strongholds.
Supporters say the deal was the best way to bring peace, and that it also addresses long-time local grievances over the inefficient regular judicial system. Critics, including the White House, have slammed the deal as an affront to democracy and human rights, saying it gives militants a state-sanctioned sanctuary.
Some critics go as far as to say that Swat could be the first domino to fall — that Islamabad, which is less than a hundred miles away, could follow along with other segments of the country that neighbours Afghanistan. >>> | Wednesday, April 22, 2009
