Taliban controls North-West Frontier Province

Peshawar, Pakistan, February 26 — The government of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province has surrendered to the demand of Tehrik-e-Nefaze Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) for enforcing Sharia law in the Malakand Division of North-West Pakistan.

The chief minister along other heads of the NWFP government and a 30-member delegation of TNSM participated in a grand peace Jirga meeting in Peshawar for implementing the Nizam-e-Adal Regulation 2009. Jamat-e-Islami who ruled NWFP during former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf’s regime and paved the way for the deployment of forces in the Swat region refused to participate in the meeting.

After brain storming on different aspects of the proposed Sharia Law in the Malakand Division, the government of North-West Pakistan and TNSM signed a draft agreement under the name of Nizam-e-Adal Regulation 2009, which is an amended form of Nizam-e-Adal Regulation 1999, which will mainly cover the Malakand region consisting of Malakand Agency, Swat, Buner, Shangla, Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Kohistan region in Mansehra.

“Under this regulation all laws against Sharia will be abolished and civil cases will be decided within four months and criminal cases will be decided within six months,” Mian Iftekhar, the NWFP minister for information told the media after the Jirga.

Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister of North-West Pakistan told the media that enforcement of Sharia was an realized dream of the people of Malakand Division and it will bring peace and harmony to Swat valley and adjacent parts. He also expressed the hope that militant groups will surrender their weapons and work to restore peace. He also stressed that the armed forces and security agencies would bring peace and tranquility to the region.

Referring to criticisms from Western media and officials of the U.S. and NATO on peace deals with militants, Bashir Bilour, senior minister of NWFP said they signed an accord with TNSM and not with the militants of Fazlullah in Swat. “We have signed this deal on the demands of the people and we want to isolate the militants through this treaty,” he said.

The prime minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani told the media that the Army will leave Swat if peace is restored and writ of the government established. On the other hand, Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan in an interview with CBS said that Pakistan is in grave danger from the Taliban, who he said are present in “huge parts” of Pakistan. “We are aware of the fact (the Taliban) trying to take over the state of Pakistan. So we are fighting for the survival of Pakistan,” he said. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, in a recent visit to India said that India was also at risk from the Taliban in Pakistan.

Muslim Khan, the Taliban spokesman in Swat said that they will provide every sort of support in enforcing the Sharia Regulation in the region. His remark shows that TNSM and Tehrik-e-Taliban are different manifestations of the same movement.

The Western media has criticized Pakistan's deal with the militants. It has highlighted that the Pakistani move is likely to strain relations between the U. S. and Pakistan, which a nearly completed U.S. military study is expected to say is a more urgent foreign policy challenge ro President Barack Obama than Iraq or Iran.

A parade of high level U.S. officials have visited Pakistan in this regard to press for more aggressive military efforts against Islamic militants and to criticize attempts to negotiate peace deals with extremists.