Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad asked the Swat Taliban on Tuesday to lay down arms after President Asif Zardari approved the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation, but Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said in a tepid response his men would surrender arms only after they see sharia enforced in Malakand. "The Taliban should lay down weapons after the signing of the sharia regulation by the president," Sufi said while talking to reporters.Then his lips fell off.
"We will do that when the sharia is enforced and we see changes on the ground," Muslim Khan told Daily Times by telephone from Mingora. "When we are satisfied with the practical steps, we will lay down weapons," he said.
"And how soon will that be?"
"Ten thousand years oughta do it!"
He asked the Taliban to avoid displaying weapons in public in major towns of the division. But Sufi said the Taliban should now "play their role in development of the people and the area. heir demand for the imposition of sharia has been met and carrying weapons has no logic now."
Expression #89: "Look of wide-eyed innocence."
He welcomed the National Assembly's approval of the regulation.
"See? They really did know what wuz good for them!"
Meanwhile, Qazi courts began functioning in Swat with full legal powers. The courts had started functioning on March 12 in six tehsils of Swat. However, the new qazi courts would not hear cases against the Taliban, The Associated Press quoted the TNSM chief as telling a private TV channel. "We intend to bury the past," he said.
"Along with the rest of you bastards!"