By Kathy Shaidle
The Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan once was a popular tourist destination. Now it is Taliban-controlled territory, where beheadings are commonplace and schools for girls are regularly burned down. And the situation is about to deteriorate further.
In exchange for what will likely be only a temporary peace, the Pakistani government has agreed to allow the Taliban to enforce Muslim Sharia law in Swat. Pakistan insists that the agreement is conditional on the Taliban ceasing all terrorism, but the move is already being hailed as a victory by the militants. “Our whole struggle is for the enforcement of Shariah law,” Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. “If this really brings us the implementation of Shariah, we will fully cooperate with it.” The Taliban has thus gotten exactly what it wanted, without having to give up anything in return.
That’s precisely why international reaction to the latest agreement has been almost universally negative. Iqbal Haider from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan accuses the Pakistan government of capitulating to the Taliban which, while greatly outnumbered, nevertheless managed to wrest control of the Swat Valley after a year of fighting. “We are appalled by such an appeasement of extremist and militant forces who are hell-bent upon destroying Pakistan and conquering Pakistan,” said Haider. Read more ...
The Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan once was a popular tourist destination. Now it is Taliban-controlled territory, where beheadings are commonplace and schools for girls are regularly burned down. And the situation is about to deteriorate further.
In exchange for what will likely be only a temporary peace, the Pakistani government has agreed to allow the Taliban to enforce Muslim Sharia law in Swat. Pakistan insists that the agreement is conditional on the Taliban ceasing all terrorism, but the move is already being hailed as a victory by the militants. “Our whole struggle is for the enforcement of Shariah law,” Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. “If this really brings us the implementation of Shariah, we will fully cooperate with it.” The Taliban has thus gotten exactly what it wanted, without having to give up anything in return.
That’s precisely why international reaction to the latest agreement has been almost universally negative. Iqbal Haider from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan accuses the Pakistan government of capitulating to the Taliban which, while greatly outnumbered, nevertheless managed to wrest control of the Swat Valley after a year of fighting. “We are appalled by such an appeasement of extremist and militant forces who are hell-bent upon destroying Pakistan and conquering Pakistan,” said Haider. Read more ...
Source: FrontPage Magazine
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