Shariah law in Malakand

Shariah law in Malakand



MUCH to Richard Holbrooke's chagrin who was in Pakistan last week to seek tightening of screws on the militants the guns have fallen silent in Swat and other districts of Malakand Division - following an agreement on Monday between the NWFP government and the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) to enforce Shariah laws in the embattled region. A day before, the militants had released the Chinese engineer and announced a 10-day cease-fire, prompting schools to reopen as per their regular schedules. Both the warring militants and the Pak Army say the agreement would be fully respected. These are dramatic developments that would hopefully lift the curse of war and deprivation from the blighted mountainous region inhibited by some three million hapless Pakistanis. On the face of it, all this could have been achieved some months earlier also but the federal government and proponents of Islamic rule in Malakand Division had differed on the applicability of appellate jurisdiction of superior courts and appointment of advisors to the judges of Qazi courts. Those differences still remain to be tackled by a joint team of experts from both sides. Given the spirit of the agreement, the questions like how to fit these courts into the constitutional scheme of things and thus countenance a "parallel judiciary" are amenable to resolution. Such a legal system aptly fits into the demands of the local population of Swat that have had Shariah courts in the past.


Of course, Richard Holbrooke and some other secular-liberal circles at home and abroad are unhappy over the agreement but the general public in Pakistan has heaved a sigh of relief. The cease-fire followed by agreement to introduce Shariah courts has been celebrated in the NWFP, particularly by the residents of Swat by distributing sweets. As to why Information Minister Sherry Rehman, who acts as the federal government's chief spokesperson, should predicate the presidential signature to implementation of the agreement is yet an unanswered question. May be the ruling government is worried and rightly so, about its international image as a liberal entity. But that concern is unfounded because it is the parliament that is supposed to give constitutional cover to the Qazi courts and not the president. Her stance also comes clashing with the provincial government's persistent position that the agreement with the militants had the blessings of President Zardari. For his right credentials Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the chief of TNSM, has helped clinch this agreement. He had led this movement, with reasonable success, in the 90s during the governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. And, his credentials also gel with the militants for he had led a 'lashkar' to Afghanistan when the Americans entered there to dislodge the Taliban government. Since Maulana Sufi Muhammad's role as representative of the militants has been acknowledged by the Swat chapter of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban (PTT) there is the hope that the agreement would be implemented by both sides, putting to rest the worry in the US-led anti-terror coalition that such agreements give militants the time to re-group. Should this agreement endure it has the potential to bring peace and prosperity to Swat and its adjoining areas.

Pakistan's war against terror

THE decision by the Pakistani government to suspend military action and allow Shariah law in Swat Valley cannot have been an easy one to take. The risk is that far from ending the Taleban insurrection, it will make the extremists think that the government of President Asif Ali Zardari is weak and so embolden them, after a short break for regrouping and rearming, to relaunch their insurgency - but with far more ambitious goals. After all, the Taleban's aim is not limited to control of the Swat Valley or Waziristan where this deal is bound to give heart to the insurgents; their dream is all Pakistan. Certainly that is the fear, even though the demand for Shariah law in Swat and other parts of the country long predates both the Taleban and Pakistan. The demand goes back almost 200 years. The questions in many minds are: What concession will the insurgents make in return? Will the Taleban lay down their arms? Will they allow girls' schools to reopen which they so spectacularly forced to close by beheading pupils and teachers alike? Or will they continue to strike against anyone who dares to disagree with their twisted vision of Islam?


That is why the Swat decision is not being well received internationally. Even many Pakistanis are opposed. They want a strong central government; they see the move as appeasement. That is unfortunate to say the least. Such views are bound to further damage Pakistan's image abroad at a time when the country's international standing is at an all-time low. There is no point in pretending otherwise. The response to the Mumbai attacks, the release from house arrest of Dr. A.Q. Khan, the man behind Pakistan's nuclear bomb, the accusation by Afghanistan that last week's deadly attacks on government buildings in Kabul were carried out by terrorists from Pakistan and now this have all conspired to damage Pakistan's credibility. This is a dangerous slide. The more Pakistan is attacked abroad, the greater the resentment at home and the more the government is undermined. Pakistan needs a strong and respected government, respected at home, respected abroad. Without respect, its ability to bring economic prosperity to Pakistan, let alone to fight the war against terror, is restricted. Limited sympathy can too easily translate into limited financial support, limited contacts and limited business. The notion that President Zardari is governing from a position of weakness needs to be crushed. He says he is deeply worried about the Taleban. He should be believed. The army's determination to crush the Taleban threat to the Pakistani state should not be doubted. In these troubled times, with accusations flying that Pakistan is in denial, that it is weak and incapable of facing up to the threat within, it should take heart from the Saudi experience after 9/11 when foreign attitudes, particularly American attitudes, toward Saudi Arabia shifted from benign ignorance to hostility and mistrust. It was unpleasant and at times downright offensive.

-Arab News