Pakistani militants talk peace amid criticism

[February 17, 2009]  MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) -- Battle-weary residents welcomed a pro-Taliban cleric dispatched by the government Tuesday to convince militants in the former tourist haven of Swat to stop fighting in exchange for the imposition of Islamic law and suspension of military offensives there.

Sufi Muhammad arrived in a caravan of some 300 vehicles in Swat's main city of Mingora a day after he struck the truce, which a U.S. defense official called "negative" and several analysts said represented a surrender to extremists fanning out from nearby strongholds close to the Afghan border.

"We are happy. People are welcoming us," Swat resident Shah Wali, who was traveling with the motorcade, told The Associated Press. Many in the caravan wore black turbans -- a Taliban trademark. People along the way lined the route, waving and cheering the procession, television footage showed.

Several Swat residents welcomed the attempt at peace after months of fighting that killed hundreds, forced up to a third of the valley's 1.5 million people to flee and halted tourism in the stunning scenic area now believed to be mostly under militant control.

The provincial government in northwest Pakistan announced the deal Monday after it met with Islamists led by Muhammad, who has long demanded that Islamic, or Shariah, law be followed in this conservative corner of Pakistan. As part of the deal Muhammad agreed to travel to Swat and discuss peace with Maulana Fazlullah, the leader of the Swat Taliban and Muhammad's son-in-law.

Muhammad was detained in 2002 after he sent thousands to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but Pakistan freed him last year after he agreed to renounce violence. It is unclear how much influence he has over Fazlullah or exactly where they would meet, though a spokesman for the Swat Taliban leader welcomed Muhammad and has spoken positively of the truce.

The Swat Taliban said Sunday they would observe an initial 10-day cease-fire in a show of good faith.

Pakistan's inability to re-establish its authority in Swat has embarrassed the shaky civilian government and the military. 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.

Many analysts questioned whether the fighters would listen to Muhammad and said they doubted the deal would stop violence. Similar deals struck in the past have failed, including one last year in Swat that security officials said the insurgents used to regroup and re-arm.

"This is simply a great surrender, a surrender to a handful of forces who work through rough justice and brute force," said Athar Minallah, a lawyer and civil rights activist. "Who will be accountable for those hundreds of people who have been massacred in Swat? And they go and recognize these forces as a political force. This is pathetic."

A senior U.S. Defense Department official, said "it is hard to view this as anything other than a negative development." He requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of relations with Pakistan and because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

Officials said the main changes to the legal system under the agreement are included in existing laws that allow for Muslim clerics to advise judges when hearing cases and the setting up of an Islamic appeals court, would they said would ensure speedier and fairer justice.

The rules do not ban female education or contain other strict interpretations of Shariah that have been demanded by many members of the Taliban in Pakistan -- restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan before it was ousted by the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001.

[Associated Press; By SHEREN ZADA]

Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Pauline Jelinek in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.