Pakistan OKs Islamic Law In War Zone

President Agrees To Islamic Justice System In Swat Valley In Exchange For Peace With Taliban

(AP)  Under pressure from lawmakers including members of his own party, Pakistan's president on Monday signed a regulation that puts a northwest valley under Islamic law to achieve peace with Taliban militants who have brutalized the area.

Meanwhile, authorities announced the arrest of a fifth suspect in the deadly siege of the Indian city of Mumbai last year.

The provincial government in northwestern Pakistan agreed in February to impose Islamic law in the Swat Valley and surrounding areas in exchange for a cease-fire with the local Taliban.

Western and Pakistani critics say the agreement represents a dangerous surrender to extremists behind a campaign of terrorism in the Swat Valley and more broadly across the border region with Afghanistan.

Amid the criticism, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari delayed signing the agreement.

His official stance was that he wouldn't sign until peace is achieved in the area - but he never defined what that means. The delay led a hard-line cleric mediating the agreement to leave Swat in anger last week while also upsetting lawmakers from the region.

Over the weekend, the federal government said Zardari wanted opinions from members of Parliament first.

The National Assembly unanimously approved the resolution urging President Asif Ali Zardari to back the agreement Monday, though one party boycotted. The vote came hours after a Taliban spokesman said lawmakers opposed to the deal would be considered apostates.

"The whole nation is united in its support of the Swat regulation and wants the president to approve it," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the start of a floor debate on the pact Monday.

Even without the president's approval, judges trained in Islamic law had already began hearing cases in Swat, and witnesses say the Taliban are in effective control of much of the region. Supporters say the changes in the legal system will speed up justice there, not lead to harsh punishments or restrict the rights of women.

Zahid Khan, information secretary for the Awami National Party, which leads the provincial government and has been repeatedly targeted by extremists, warned earlier that it will review its alliance with Zardari's party if the delays continued.

The Awami National Party notes an Islamic legal system has long been a local demand in Swat, and said it is the best hope for ending the bloodshed.

In a sign that Zardari was searching early on for political cover to avoid backing the deal, a top member of his party on Monday accused the Taliban of failing to hold up their end of the bargain.

Those brokering the deal have given few specifics about conditions placed on the Taliban.

But Pakistan People's Party information secretary Fauzia Wahab said the Taliban were supposed to cooperate with security forces, denounce suicide attacks, close their training camps and turn over their weapons, among other measures.

"The agreement was two-way, it was not one-way," she said.

Muslim Khan, the Taliban spokesman, did not say whether the Taliban would punish legislators opposing the deal other than to say a militant council would discuss the matter. The charge of apostasy, or abandoning Islam, carries the death penalty in some quarters.

Lawmakers from the Muttahida Quami Movement, a party based in the southern city of Karachi that has a strong anti-Taliban stance, walked out of the session. "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint," said Farooq Sattar, a top party leader.

Also Monday, visiting Sen. John Kerry met with Zardari, Gilani and other top officials, including Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, the head of Pakistan's most powerful spy service, Inter-Services Intelligence.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is spearheading a bill to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for 10 years.

The goal is to help Pakistan improve economic, educational, and other sectors partly to lessen the allure of militancy.

In a statement after meeting Kerry, Gilani urged the U.S. not to attach conditions to the aid funding.

During a news conference, the senator largely sidestepped piercing questions about U.S. drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan's northwest, saying he would convey Pakistani dismay over the escalated missile campaign to his colleagues in Washington.

Kerry also took a diplomatic stance when asked about U.S. allegations that Pakistan's spy agencies are assisting the Taliban and linked groups in Afghanistan.

"I think that he and your government are making enormous efforts to guarantee the absolute cooperation and accountability of the intelligence efforts in this country," Kerry said.

[jwesel1]

i hope and pray the Coalition Forces come through and whip the Taliban out just as the Nazi's were whiped out in WWII.

Posted by holder133487 at 6:41 AM : Apr 14, 2009
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Why should the coalition penalize people for exercising their democratic right?

[holder133487]

'Majority is authority' this is democracy. The people of West demanding this law since long becoz they are not satisfied with the present system. They want speedy justice.... Thats all. Let them give the right to live the way they want to live.
Posted by peacefulKhan

are you f*cking serious? islamic law is the most ridiculous system ever conceived. some of their laws are very similar to Hitlers laws back in the day. Hitler made up laws that landed you in jail or with a death sentence if you didn't salute him or look at him when he passed by. how is that any different than apostasy? these Taliban nut-jobs need to be eliminated from society and let society itself develope to at least 20th century standards. Islamic law sounds like some of the bogus sh*t that was around back before the 15th century, back before there was a such thing as human rights, before women had rights. Islamic law doesn't recognize intelligence because the people who crafted up these Nazi-like laws aren't intelligent whatsoever.

i hope and pray the Coalition Forces come through and whip the Taliban out just as the Nazi's were whiped out in WWII.

[peacefulKhan]

'Majority is authority' this is democracy. The people of West demanding this law since long becoz they are not satisfied with the present system. They want speedy justice.... Thats all. Let them give the right to live the way they want to live.

[ajjaxtheleast]

HAIL DEMOCRACY!!!

In a democracy the government kills less citizens
than the citizations themselves.

In other govt. forms the citizens kill less citizens than
the government does.

HAIL DEMOCRACY!!

An now we want to export mothers scared to death to
send their children off to await the morning school bus.

HAIL DEMOCRACY!!

[DoubleHappiness88]

It is in America*s interest that Islamic law be imposed in Pakistan.
Shariah will disintegrate Pakistani society, quickly have them slaughtering each other in record numbers and save America the bother. RELIGION POISONS EVERYTHING!

[brianbwb-2009]

"... I fear that we have seen the beginning of a dark age in the east. Not one working for a better future, but one for violent takeover throughout the region." Posted by netjunkie1

Unless you live there, you have nothing to worry about, what they do is their business, and if enough of their women object, things will change.

[brianbwb-2009]

" Pretty soon Islamic Law will be forced right here in America, with Obama at the throne. He's already appointed someone in his administration who believes Sharia law should be implemented in US Courts. Don't believe me people. Look it up yourselves by doing a simple Google search." Posted by NoReasoningWithLiberals

What an idiot. Religious law, as dictated by any religion is prohibited by the constitution, dummy, weren't you paying attention in junior high school? You failed neos will resort to any lies in your desperation, even the most patently ridiculous ones.

Are you getting paid for this, or are you just a natural fool?

[jwesel1]

If the majority wants Islamic laws then democracy requires the president to listen to their wishes.

[tazmjam]

?Supporters say the changes in the legal system will speed up justice there, not lead to harsh punishments or restrict the rights of women.?

Yeah right and pigs fly?.Pakistan has a dismal track record where women are concerned; there was over 400 honor killings just last year. Islamic law will make it worse. Giving into the Taliban will embolden them; soon that one area will not be enough. Their spokesman acts like the Taliban runs the country talking about charging legislators who did not support them with apostasy. This was a stupid move by the Pakistan legislators. As for Kerry and the bill he is spearheading, 1.5 billion a year for 10 years?..I don?t really need to tell you where to stick that bill do I?
?The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.? Marcus Tullius

[aspadeisaspade]

Thank you Pakistan! You've now just set a precedent that Taliban CAN force, with violence, Islamic law on countries. Sure, it's just one region now, but that is how cancer spreads. Way to go.