NATO led a growing chorus of international concern Tuesday by warning that a truce between the government of Pakistan and Taliban militants in a restive region near the Afghan border risks giving the extremists a “safe haven.”
A hard-line cleric sent to the battle-scarred Swat Valley to negotiate with the Taliban received a hero’s welcome there by crowds shouting “Long live Islam! Long live peace!”
NATO has 55,000 troops in Afghanistan, and many face attacks by Taliban and al-Qaida fighters believed to find refuge in pockets of Pakistan’s northwest.
In the last few months, Swat has largely fallen to militants who have beheaded opponents, burned scores of girls’ schools and banned many forms of entertainment. Gunbattles between security forces and militants have killed hundreds, while up to a third of the valley’s 1.5 million people have fled.
The truce “is certainly reason for concern,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai said in Brussels. “We should all be concerned by a situation in which extremists would have a safe haven. Without doubting the good faith of the Pakistani government, it is clear that the region is suffering very badly from extremists and we would not want it to get worse.”
As part of the deal, the pro-Taliban cleric agreed to travel to Swat and discuss peace with Maulana Fazlullah, his son-in-law and the leader of the Swat Taliban. Muhammad and his convoy of 300 vehicles arrived in Swat’s main city of Mingora on Tuesday as hundreds of jubilant residents lined the roads and shouted slogans. Many of those in the convoy with him wore black turbans — a Taliban trademark.
Pakistan’s inability to regain Swat has embarrassed the shaky civilian government. However, Pakistani leaders insisted the deal was not a concession, but an attempt to fulfill demands by locals for a more efficient justice system.
Some 2,000 militants are believed to operate in the valley, and, in defiance of the presence of some 10,000 paramilitary and army troops, they have already set up their own courts, meting out punishments in line with an exceptionally harsh brand of Islamic law.
Officials said the main changes to the legal system will involve existing — but unenforced — laws that allow for Muslim clerics to advise judges when hearing cases and the setting up of an Islamic appeals court. The rules do not ban female education or contain other strict interpretations of Shariah often adhered to by many Taliban.
