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Holbrooke and Mullen believe the deal empowers militants and threatens US interests. (Reuters) |
ISLAMABAD — The US has reportedly asked Pakistan to scrap a peace deal in the tourist valley of Swat on the ground that it provides an opportunity for local militants to strengthen themselves and regroup.
"Richard Holbrooke and Admiral Michael Mullen made this demand during their meetings with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Army Chief General Pervez Ashfaq Kyani," a senior Foreign Office official told Islamonline.net, requesting anonymity for the sensitivity of the issue.
Holbrooke, the special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with Pakistani leaders over the past two days.
Holbrooke and Mullen are the first top-level officials to visit Pakistan since US President Barack Obama put the country at the heart of his new strategy to defeat Al-Qaeda.
"Holbrooke told the prime minister and the army chief that the Obama administration has serious reservations on the Swat peace deal, and it sees the deal against US interests," said the Foreign Office official.
The government announced on Monday, February 16, the enforcement of Shari`ah judicial system in Swat and various other districts of the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP).
The announcement was part of a deal with the local Taliban groups.
Washington has repeatedly raised its concerns about the deal.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an Afghan TV channel that they have officially informed Pakistan about their concern.
"We have conveyed our concern to Pakistani leadership and we hope it will scrap the Swat peace agreement by accepting our reservations."
Reluctant
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| "If the government bows to the US pressure in this regard, then there is no guarantee of peace here," Sufi Mohammad told IOL. |
The Foreign Office official said Gilani and Kyani disagreed with the American view that the peace deal was empowering militants.
"The prime minister told the US delegation that Shari`ah judicial system has been enforced not on the demand of Taliban but on the demand of local people who had been struggling for that since 1988."
Swat had been an independent state governed by Shari`ah laws until 1970 before annexed to Pakistan by former military ruler General Yahya Khan.
According to the official, Gilani said that if Taliban did not desist from their activities, they will be singled out because they had been enjoying the support of the locals only for struggling for the implementation of Shari`ah.
"Let us tackle this issue as per our own strategy. We are sure it will produce positive results."
The Foreign Office official noted that the two sides also differed on the issue of the controversial US drone attacks in the tribal areas.
"The prime minister told the US officials to stop drone attacks because they have proven counter-productive."
Holbrooke and Mullen reportedly informed the Pakistani leadership that there will be an increase in drone attacks.
A suspected US drone slammed a missile into a vehicle in Gangi Khel village, about five kilometers west of Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, killing three, the third such attack in just over a week.
Pakistan is deeply opposed to the drone attacks, at least 37 of which have killed around 370 people since August 2008, saying they deepen public resentment.
Warning
Maulana Sufi Mohammad, the leader of the pro-Taliban Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shari’ah Mohammadi (TNSM), who signed the peace deal with the government, lambasted the American intervention and pressure.
"I don’t understand why America is intervening in this matter?" the aging religious scholar told IOL by telephone.
"Does it want to tell us that it was against Shari`ah? If yes, then we don’t bother about that because America and Shari`ah are two opposite things."
Sufi Mohammad, who launched TNSM in 1988, is a staunch supporter of Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Omer.
Following the ouster of the Taliban government, he came back to Pakistan where he was arrested and later handed him down a seven-year jail for violating the border laws.
His son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, locally known as Maulana Radio because of his FM radio station, took control of TNSM and launched a violent campaign against security forces.
Persistent unrest and clashes in Swat forced the government to seek the help of Sufi Mohammad, who is considered a soft-spoken, non-violent scholar.
"The Shari`ah judicial agreement is between the government and the people of Swat. Who is America to involve in our internal matters," he fumed.
"The US pressure is aimed at engaging the people Swat and the government in another battle."
He asked the government not to bow to the US pressure and take decision as per the wishes of the local people.
"This is not only the issue of Swat peace deal, but you can feel US intervention in every matter. Now, it is up to our government whether to think about the interest of its own people or bow to the US," said Sufi Mohammad.
"If the government bows to the US pressure in this regard, then there is no guarantee of peace here."
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