Pakistan military allying with Taliban
April 2, 2009 by SAF Desk
By: Tufail Ahmad
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In the recent months, an old-new alliance has been re-emerging between the Taliban and Pakistan, aimed at countering the efforts of the U.S. and NATtroops against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Pakistani authorities recently signed twagreements with the Taliban – known as the “Shari’a for Peace deals” – which give the movement full authority tenforce the Shari’a law in the Swat Valley and broader Malakand region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The Taliban’s part of the deal amounts tnmore than an unwritten – and largely unfulfilled – promise tstop fighting the government forces in the area.
The deals come in the wake of three operations carried out by the Pakistani military against the Taliban in the last three years – operations in which the military conspicuously refrained from causing the movement significant harm or from killing its leaders.
The apparent capitulation of the Pakistani authorities tthe demands of the Taliban is actually a part of a long-standing alliance between them. The Pakistani military – which actually formed the Taliban in the 1990s – has long been using this movement tcontrol Afghanistan and as a tool in its confrontation with the West. The Taliban, for its part, uses the support and protection of Pakistan tconsolidate its strength and gain control over increasingly large areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The first Shari’a for Peace deal was signed February 16, 2009 between the Pakistani authorities and the Taliban “moderates” led by Maulana Fazlullah’s father-in-law, Sufi Muhammad. [6] The latter had been incarcerated in a Pakistani prison, but was released in April 2008 precisely for the purpose of facilitating a deal between the authorities and the Taliban. [7]
On March 5, 2009, the Pakistani authorities signed a second agreement with the Taliban, giving it even more power tregulate day-to-day life in the Swat Valley district. The second deal included the following clauses: [10]
Steps will be taken tend “obscenity” and “vulgarity.”
Music centers and shops selling “obscene CDs” will be closed.
Shops and markets will be closed during prayer times.
A campaign will be launched traise public awareness t”social evils.”
Arrangements will be made for teaching Koran in prisons and for prison reforms.
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