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Cleric's exit imperils Pakistan peace deal
A hard-line cleric who negotiated a peace accord that halted fighting between the Taliban and security forces in part of northwest Pakistan said Thursday he is leaving the region to protest the government's failure to impose Islamic law.The announcement casts serious doubt on the durability of a cease-fire in the Swat valley that U.S. officials worry will create another sanctuary for allies of al-Qaida responsible for a rising tide of violence in the nuclear-armed country. The U.S. Embassy said "heightened security" was prompting it to suspend routine consular services Friday in Pakistan's capital. Spokesman Lou Fintor declined Thursday night to detail what led to the security concern in Islamabad, but said consulates in other major cities would remain open and that emergency services would still be available for Americans. Imposing Islamic law in Swat, a one-time tourist haven, was the key plank of an accord worked out in February between the provincial government and Sufi Muhammad, a cleric who once led thousands of volunteers to fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan but has since renounced violence. Thanks in part to Muhammad's mediation, the agreement ended 18 months of terror and bloody clashes that had left hundreds dead and forced up to one-third of the previously prosperous valley's 1.5 million residents to flee. But the militants have retained their arms and this week pushed into a neighboring area just 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Islamabad, where they fought deadly gunbattles with villagers and police.
Posted by: ed 2009-04-09 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=267216 |