At length, the war-torn valley of Swat has witnessed the first successful peace deal as Nizam-e-Adl, a form of the Islamic law called Shariat, has been implemented in the Malakand Division. The Nizam-e-Adl regulations were approved and officially implemented by the consent of the provincial government and the Islamic militants fighting in Swat for several years. The deal has elicited a mixed response from the people, political leaderships, and the internationally community.
The implementation of Nizam-e-Adl was brought about on February 17, 2009. By the regulations of Nizam-e-Adl, people will have the option to go to an Islamic court for settling their issues, both civil and criminal, while the Islamic militants following the chief of Tahreek-e-Taliban (Swat), Maulana Fazalullah, is expected to stop militancy in the area as part of the deal. This peace deal has been welcomed by many local people as their routine lives will be restored; schools and businesses working again. Also, a large number of people who left their homes in Swat/Malakand and moved to other areas, due to the ongoing violence, will be able to return to their homes. Those, who were about to move out of Swat will have a chance to stay in place now as peace settles in the valley.
Despite the initial relief, a large number of people both within and outside the country have strong reservations over the peace deal that resulted in the implementation of Nizam-e-Adl. The international media has regarded the deal as Pakistani government’s surrender to Taliban. NATO and the United Kingdom have expressed concern over the deal as previous peace deals have failed to stop Taliban from furthering violence. The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has asserted that Nizam-e-Adl would not affect the government’s policy on terror. Some opposition leaders have criticized the deal as been implemented without consulting the opposition The Australian foreign minister has welcomed the deal while the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said that the US is trying to understand the Pakistani government’s intentions and actual agreed-upon language.
I believe this is just one more of many indicators that the Pakistani leadership is so compromised from within that they are barely capable of any independent action.