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| Watch over development in Swat | | |
Concerned over extremism, entire world attention is now on the Swat Valley of Pakistan where President Asif Ali Zardari has played a tactical blunder. The situation in Pakistan’s Swat Valley has never been more worrying. Under a controversial deal with the Taliban, the Pakistan government has agreed to enforce Sharia law in the Malakand division of which Swat Valley is a part in return for a ten-day ceasefire. The growing clout of the Taliban not only in the regions bordering Afghanistan but also in Pakistan’s cities has been evident for a while. Despite the large number of Pakistani troops backed by US forces being deployed to combat the Taliban, the latter’s influence here has grown exponentially in recent months. Recently Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said that the Taliban “was trying to take over Pakistan.” It does seem that the Pakistani government has cut a deal in a bid to buy peace with the Taliban to preempt any such move by the latter. Both the ceasefire and the imposition of Sharia law are cause for serious concern. The ceasefire itself would not have been a bad idea had it been aimed at ushering in peace in the region by drawing the Taliban into negotiations. Ordinary people living in the Swat Valley are suffering grievously, caught as they are in the endless fighting between the Taliban on the one hand and the Pakistan military and US forces on the other. In the circumstances, a genuine ceasefire would have provided them with some respite. However, the government-Taliban ceasefire deal is unlikely to free civilians here from the grip of violence. If past experience of ceasefire deals is any indication of what lies ahead, it is clear that the Taliban will use the ceasefire to re-group and strike with renewed ferocity. What is more, life under Sharia law will be a nightmare for women. Some analysts have pointed out that by agreeing to implement Sharia law in the Malakand division, the government is only formalising the status quo on the ground. Indeed, Sharia law has been in effect here since 1994. However, the government’s nod to implementing Sharia law in exchange for what is a temporary truce signals Islamabad’s utter helplessness in fighting extremism and terrorism. By caving in to Taliban’s demands, the government has admitted its weakness. It will embolden religious fundamentalists to demand Sharia law in other parts of Pakistan. But the impact of Islamabad’s capitulation to the forces of extremism and terrorism will not be limited to Pakistan. Its reverberations will be felt across South Asia and beyond.
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