The peace deal between Taliban and authorities in Pakistan’s restive Swat valley appeared headed for a collapse as a cleric, who negotiated the accord, said today that he was leaving the region in protest against the delay by government in imposing the strict Islamic law.

Sufi Muhammad, father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah who is the Taliban’s chief in Swat, said he was leaving the region in “protest” and claimed that there cannot be peace in Swat without enforcement of the Sharia.

Sufi blamed President Asif Ali Zardari of delaying the promised signatures on the ‘Nizam-e-Adl’ (justice system) ordinance. “I am ending my peace camp in Swat. From now on Zardari will be responsible for any situation in Swat,” said Muhammad, the founder of Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e- Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM), which facilitated the peace deal between the Taliban and government.

He regretted that while the provincial government favours the ordinance, President Zardari was reluctant to sign it and linked it with restoration of complete peace in Swat.

Provincial information minister Ifitkhar Mohammad Khan said a meeting is being convened to consider the implications of Sufi Mohammad’s announcement. He said Zardari could salvage the situation by signing the ordinance.

He noted that the peace accord signed by the provincial government with Sufi had substantially improved law and order situation in Swat, considerably restored the writ of the government, led to reopening of schools including those of girls.

Sufi, however, made it clear that he is not withdrawing from the peace agreement he signed in February with the NWFP provincial government. But there could not be any peace in Swat without enforcement of Sharia. Further delay in this regard would jeopardise the peace accord, Sufi added.

Imposition of Islamic law is one of the main demands of the Taliban, who reached the peace deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government in February, ending 18 months of violence in the region that left hundreds of people dead.

Fazlullah also complained that the talks with the authorities were going on for the past two months, but still there was no progress about enforcement of ‘Sharia’.

The United States has assured Pakistan it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview with Najam Sethi for Dunya TV.

“Not only the people of Pakistan, but also the government is concerned over the drone attacks,” Zardari said. He said the US had incorporated several of Pakistan’s suggestions in its new policy for Afghanistan, but the two countries disagreed on the drone strikes. However, he said Washington “has assured us it will not carry out drone attacks in Balochistan”.

Zardari hoped dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi would resume after elections in India. He said his bold peace overtures to India had received no positive response, and the Mumbai terrorist attack last year stalled the peace talks. He also referred to a 30 per cent increase in the Indian defence budget. He said he had made offers to India that were not liked by many in Pakistan .

The president said his government wanted to develop a consensus in parliament on how to solve the problems in Balochistan, and hoped the issue would be resolved by the end of this year. The new arrangement would be provided constitutional cover to ensure any future breach of Baloch rights. Zardari said the number of “missing people” in Balochistan was neither in thousands nor in hundreds. “There are a few people,” he said, adding they would be released after the due process of law. The president said the government was looking at the results

of the Swat peace deal and future decisions would be made accordingly. The NWFP government believed Sufi Muhammad was ‘reconcilable’, he said.

Regarding concerns about increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan, the president said a number of international intelligence agencies were involved in spy games in Kabul and there was a need for a global consensus to end the practice.

Islamabad, April 9
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said he is hopeful that the dialogue between Pakistan and India, stalled in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, would resume after the LS polls in India.

Zardari claimed that his “bold peace overtures” to India had received “no positive response”.

In an interview with Dunya TV channel, he said the Mumbai terrorist attacks stalled the peace talks but he hoped the dialogue would resume after the elections in India. Zardari also said the US has assured Pakistan that it would not carry out drone attacks in the Balochistan province.

“Not only the people of Pakistan but also the government is concerned over the drone attacks,” he said.

The Pakistan government was looking at the results of the peace deal in the Swat valley and future decisions would be made accordingly. The NWFP government believed religious hardliner Sufi Muhammad, whose group signed a deal with authorities to usher in peace in Swat, was “reconcilable”, Zardari said. — PTI

Pakistan on Thursday approved an accord with Iran to go ahead with gas pipeline project even at enhanced price. The Federal Cabinet has decided to advance the clock by one hour (GMT+6) from April 15 as an energy conservation measure.
While announcing various decisions made by the cabinet, which met under Prime Minister, information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said the cabinet cleared the way for the gas pipeline project with Iran by accepting price purchase formula offered by Tehran. Kaira said the cabinet accepted Iran’s offer to export one billion cubic feet per day of the gas at 80 per cent of the crude oil price in the international market. A sale-purchase agreement is likely to be signed this year.

India’s decision to pull out of the project has also pushed up the costs but Pakistan decided to go ahead hoping India would ultimately join it. Kaira said Pakistan had factored in its needs without caring about “US pressure, that forced India to pull out of it”.

The cabinet approved Pakistan’s accession to the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism which requires parties to take steps to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorism whether direct or indirect through groups claiming to have charitable, social, or cultural goals or which engage in illicit activities.

The cabinet decided that the government would own responsibility of paying Rs 31 billion outstanding against the Karachi Electric Supply Company to help its management invest the promised amount of Rs 28 billion on development projects to increase power generation.

The cabinet decided to set up a four-member committee to oversee Gwadar port operations. It would also propose incentives for the proposed export processing zone. The cabinet decided to review the Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement to safeguard the country’s interests while facilitating the Afghan trade.

It decided to levy 25 per cent regulatory tax on export of molasses because its production had dropped after a decline in sugarcane production.

It approved draft Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2009. The proposed amendments are necessary to bring the various provisions of Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, 2007, in line with international standards, Kaira said.

London, April 9
British universities have long been identified as a potential breeding ground for extremists. Ministers have already warned that the threat from campuses is “real and serious” as students are at the risk of being groomed by fanatics.

The Telegraph quotes experts as saying that as many as 48 universities have been infiltrated in the past. The government has urged academics and students to report suspicions over extremism. They were told to identify student societies, particularly Islamic groups, at the risk of falling into the hands of radical preachers and vet speakers invited onto campuses to address students.

Former Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said he did not want to “overstate the menace” of violent extremism, but it was a “real and serious threat”.

Professor Anthony Glees, director of Brunel University’s Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, warned that at least 48 campuses, including Oxford, Cambridge, the London School of Economics and Imperial College London, had been infiltrated.

Student Islamic societies have faced growing scrutiny after it emerged that one of 12 men charged in connection with the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners was president of the Islamic Society at London Metropolitan University.

Anjem Choudary, former head of the radical al-Muhajiroun group in Britain, joined the organisation as a student at the University of Surrey. In 2006, Dhiren Barot, said to be al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s “UK general”, was jailed for 40 years for planning terrorist attacks. He faked his identity in order to study at Brunel University. — ANI