PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pro-Taleban militants yesterday declared an indefinite cease-fire and vowed to release prisoners in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where they have fought for nearly two years to enforce Shariah law.
The announcement came eight days after the government signed a controversial deal to accept Islamic law as the only system of justice in Swat, 160 kilometers from Islamabad and once Pakistan’s only ski resort.
The local government hailed the truce as a step toward permanent peace as the military vowed to continue to hold fire in the valley, where thousands of people have fled the violence, but analysts warned it was unlikely to last.
The Shariah deal has triggered alarm in the United States, Europe, Afghanistan and India, amid concerns it will embolden militants in North West Frontier Province, which is rife with Taleban and Al-Qaeda extremists.
The cease-fire announcement applies to Swat but not to vast areas elsewhere in northwest Pakistan where Taleban and Al-Qaeda extremists are holed up. Militant leader Maulana Fazlullah convened a consultative council yesterday and agreed to extend a 10-day cease-fire, which had been scheduled to expire today, and to release prisoners, his spokesman Muslim Khan told AFP.
“Today the Shoura met under Maulana Fazlullah and decided to hold a cease-fire for an indefinite period,” Khan said, referring to the council. Fazlullah’s supporters had observed a temporary truce since last Monday, when the government signed the controversial deal with pro-Taleban cleric Sufi Muhammad to enforce Shariah law in Swat in an effort to end the insurgency.
Thousands of Fazlullah’s supporters have spent nearly two years waging a terrifying campaign to enforce Shariah law, beheading opponents, bombing girls’ schools, outlawing entertainment and fighting government forces.
“We are releasing all prisoners unconditionally. Today we released four paramilitary soldiers and we will release all security personnel in our custody as a goodwill gesture,” Khan vowed.
