Quoted Text

In bow to militants, Pakistan officials back Islamic law
BY ZULFIQAR ALI AND LAURA KING
Los Angeles Times

    PESHAWAR, Pakistan — In a significant concession to Islamic militants battling the central government, Pakistani authorities Monday agreed to allow the imposition of Sharia, or Islamic law, in a one-time tourist destination just 100 miles north of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
    The move, the main provision of a cease-fire formally announced Monday by both sides, fi gures to set off alarm bells in Washington. The Obama administration has urged Pakistan’s civilian government to move decisively against Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants in tribal areas along the Afghan border, where Sharia is already in effect, and elsewhere in Pakistan’s volatile northwest.
    The decision appeared aimed at appeasing followers of a radical cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, who in late 2007 seized control of the scenic Swat Valley. For months, Fazlullah’s fighters have been terrorizing Swat residents by beheading police officers and burning down girls’ schools, to which they object on religious grounds. Death threats are routinely handed down by the militants, who use illicit radio broadcasts to dictate Talibanstyle social mores.
    The cease-fire in the Swat Valley drew an indirect expression of concern from newly appointed regional envoy Richard Holbrooke, who is visiting India after stops in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
    Holbrooke called Islamic insurgents in Pakistan “an enemy that poses a direct threat to our leadership, our capitals and our people.”
    During his visit to Pakistan last week, the U.S. special envoy met with refugees from Swat, describing them as “frankly, quite terrified.”
    Human-rights groups Monday expressed concern about the new pact, saying it opens the door to even more violence and intimidation by militants in an area that is home to nearly 2 million people.
    “The truce could legitimize the human-rights abuses that have been taking place in the region as Taliban influence has increased,” according to an Amnesty International statement.
    The fighting in Swat has been seen as a barometer of the Pakistani government’s determination to confront Islamic militants, because the area lies far from the Afghan border and is not part of the semi-autonomous tribal belt, where the militants have a .................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00303