PESHAWAR: Pakistani police have detained pro-Taleban cleric Sufi Muhammad, accusing him of helping militants in the country’s northwest and sabotaging the government’s fight against them, an official said on Sunday.
Muhammad helped broker a deal between the government and the Taleban in February to end violence in the northwest Swat valley, but the pact collapsed after militants refused to lay down arms and began expanding their influence in nearby districts.
Security forces subsequently launched an offensive against the militants in Swat and nearby districts nearly three months ago, as the Taleban’s advances raised concerns about the stability of the US ally and the safety of its nuclear weapons.
“We have detained him as his activities could disturb the law and order situation and after an inquiry we’ll file cases against him,” said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister of the North West Frontier Province.
“He has been involved in activities which help militancy and militants and sabotage government efforts to combat them,” he told a news conference in Peshawar.
Muhammad is the father-in-law of Swat Taleban commander Fazlullah, whose spokesman said last week he was alive and unhurt, contrary to earlier reports by the military that he was injured.
