‘Swat deal to be reviewed if peace doesn’t return’
May 2nd, 2009 - 6:52 pm ICT by IANS
Lahore, May 2 (IANS) A controversial deal with the Taliban in Pakistan’s restive northwest would be reviewed if the militants don’t live up to their end of the bargain and peace doesn’t return to the area, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said Saturday.
“If agreement is not honoured by the other side and peace remains elusive, we would revisit and review the deal,” Gilani told reporters here.
“We would reconsider the deal,” he added for good measure.
The deal has been tottering ever since the military Sunday moved into action against the Taliban, first in the Lower Dir district of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and then in the Buner district that is just 100 km from Islamabad.
Under the Feb 16 deal between Taliban-backed radical cleric Sufi Mohammad and the NWFP government, Sharia laws would be imposed in the Malakand division of the province - that includes Swat, Buner and Lower Dir - in return for the militants laying down their arms.
Instead, the Taliban moved south from their Swat headquarters and occupied Buner.
Fierce fighting is currently underway in Lower Dir and Buner, with over 100 Taliban being killed in the former district alone.
- NWFP gets Rs.500 mn for Taliban-displaced refugees - May 06, 2009
- Educational institutes in Swat to reopen Saturday - Jul 31, 2009
- 25,000 Kalashnikovs for police in Pakistan's northwest - Aug 31, 2009
- Pakistani security forces kill 10 Taliban in Lower Dir - May 30, 2009
- Pakistani Taliban planned to target PM, others: Intelligence report - Aug 22, 2009
- Pakistani forces consolidate hold in Swat - Jun 04, 2009
- Zardari declares 'total war' against militancy - Jun 01, 2009
- Radical cleric's son killed in shelling in Pakistan - May 07, 2009
- Pakistan's political parties endorse anti-Taliban operations (Lead) - May 18, 2009
- Pakistani Army reviews anti-Taliban operations - Sep 03, 2009
- No valid data on refugees in Pakistan's northwest - Jun 03, 2009
- Pakistan PM urges unity against terror, cleric sues for peace (Roundup) - Apr 30, 2009
- 90 percent of Malakand division under army control - Aug 10, 2009
- Pakistani Taliban commander dead - Sep 20, 2009
- Fazlullah is alive, says Pakistani military - May 29, 2009
Tags: bargain, controversial deal, fierce fighting, frontier province, gilani, good measure, islamabad, lahore, malakand division, militants, mohammad, north west frontier, nwfp, pakistan, prime minister, radical cleric, raza, restive northwest, swat, taliban