(AKI/DAWN) - The peace agreement between the militant group Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat Mohammadi and the government in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province received another setback when militants ambushed an army team, killing two security personnel and a civilian in Ronyal village of the restive Swat valley.Inconceivable!
The military described the attack on security personnel a violation of the peace agreement, but the head of TNSM, Maulana Sufi Mohammad blamed the army for moving around without prior information.
Inconceivable!
The military said a captain was wounded in an ambush while two soldiers were killed when they were carrying water from a water channel.
"There absolutely was no violation of the agreement on our part. Our team was engaged by militants and we did not retaliate", army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told Pakistani daily Dawn.
Abbas also told Pakistani daily Dawn that his forces are still being attacked, despite the army's restraint.
"Our security forces are threatened, their ration supplies are disrupted and forces are attacked without any provocations. We have been exercising restraint in the larger interest of the people in Swat", he said.
A government spokesman condemned the incident and said that such negative activities could create hurdles for the restoration of peace and enforcement of sharia or Islamic law in the valley.
"We do hope that Maulana Sufi Mohammad will take notice of such activities and reprimand those involved," said the provincial minister for information in NWFP, Mian Iftikhar Hussain.
He insisted that the security forces were not involved in any provocation and assured the people that the government would soon setup courts in Swat and Malakand division and enforce sharia law.
One official said the escalation was a bad omen for peace in Swat.
"The space is getting narrower and narrower. The military may soon reach its threshold. So far they have been exercising restraint but the next couple of days could be very crucial," the official said, requesting anonymity.