http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/206dc82a-0036-11de-8747-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1
Pakistan ceasefire draws scepticism ByFarhan Bokhari in Islamabad Published: February 21 2009 16:49 | Last updated: February 22 2009 17:10 Taliban fighters and the Pakistani government have agreed to a "permanent ceasefire" in the Swat valley following a year of intense fighting in the troubled north-western area, a senior Pakistani government official said. The ceasefire follows a controversial peace agreement, announced last Monday, in which the Pakistani government accepted the introduction of sharia law in the valley - once one of Pakistan's premier tourist attractions. That move prompted criticism from many western officials and independent analysts. They believe that the agreement will embolden Islamic militants and strengthen demands for the imposition of Islamic law in other parts of Pakistan. "They [the militants] have made a commitment that they will observe a permanent ceasefire and we will do the same," said Syed Mohammad Javed, a senior government official in Swat. Government officials said Mr Javed's statement had confirmed that the militant groups in Swat had agreed not to take up arms again. They also hailed the move as a sign that the peace agreement was working. "The agreement has now become a tangible reality," said one government official. "We can confirm, Swat will not become a battleground again." Western diplomats, however, warned that the biggest gap in the peace agreement in Swat was the absence of evidence that the militants would also lay down their arms. "There is still no evidence of a verifiable disarmament of these people," said one diplomat. "What is to stop them from returning to the battlefield tomorrow?" Another western diplomat warned that the agreement could be seen by the militants as weakness on the government's part. "The militants may see this as a sign of victory," the diplomat said. "Tomorrow, what is to stop them from demanding similar sharia rule in other parts of Pakistan?" In the past year at least 1,200 people have been killed and 250,000 people have fled Swat because of the fighting. The militants have especially targeted schools for girls on the basis that the education of girls in a public place outside their homes is in violation of Islamic norms. At least 200 girls' schools have been forced to close. Across Pakistan's North West Frontier Province along the Afghan border where Swat lies, Taliban militants linked to al-Qaeda have crossed over in large numbers from Afghanistan following the US-led invasion of the central Asian country. The Pakistani military has battled militants at a number of locations across the North West Frontier Province but has failed to block their growing threat. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
