A relative of a Pakistani Taliban leader just released from custody, has vowed to continue armed struggle for Islamic law in the country's northwest, despite the signing of a peace accord. Maulana Fazlullah, son-in-law of Sufi Muhammad, said on Tuesday that his group will not lay down their arms until the government enforces the Sharia. | Pretty convenient, huh? Sufi promises peace and pink roses, whilst Fazlullah keeps on bumping people off, all in the name of the search for shariah. Sufi gets to roll his eyes and look pious and the corpses continue to pile up. |
| Learned this from the Paleos, right? |
Battle to continue
But Muslim Khan, a spokesman for Fazlullah, said that fighters allied with Fazlullah will not cease battle. "We welcome the release of Sufi Muhammad, but we will only lay down arms when the government would enforce Sharia," Khan said. "We are fighting for the enforcement of Islam. If the government enforces Sharia today, we will stop our struggle. But we want to see practical steps from the government, and not just the promises."
Khan said that the fighters he spoke for have not seen the text of the accord signed by Muhammad. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Malakand, in northwest Pakistan, said that there has been a sense of jubilation in the region with regard to the release of Sufi Muhammad. "Sufi Muhammad controls Malakand, which is the gateway to the Swat Valley, and he has tens of thousands of supporters, who lined the streets today, celebrating the end of seven years of detention for Muhammad in a maximum security prison," he said. "Fazlullah has been saying that the imposition of Sharia is the primary objective and a primary demand. Now it must be forgotten that Sufi Muhammad is also the father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, and he is a senior, influential figure - so when he speaks, everyone listens."
Last year, supporters of Fazlullah fought with security forces for control of the strategically important Swat Valley. Major-General Athar Abbas, Pakistan's army spokesman, said that no decision had been made to withdraw the army from Swat Valley.