KARACHI: JUI-S Chief Senator Maulana Samiul Haq warned the government on Saturday that the battle for enforcing the Sharia may reach Karachi and Lahore if the Swat deal fails.Speaking at a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club, he urged upon the central government not to delay the endorsing of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Swat as it is in interest of the area as well as the country. "There is a fear that this battle could be extended to Karachi and Lahore if the Swat agreement is not implemented," he said, adding that the media should support this deal as some elements are working for its failure.
According to him, President Asif Ali Zardari should endorse the deal without any delay and the government should not wait till peace is restored in the area. "What will be the need of the agreement if peace is restored in the valley," he remarked.
Haq dispelled the impression that different political and religious forces were going to make a "minus Jamaat-e-Islami" alliance in the area. To another question, he said that the media should differentiate battles being fought in the Swat and the tribal areas. There is an old agitation in Swat for the enforcement of the sharia law, while in tribal areas people are fighting against US aggression, he added.
Haq further said that it would be an injustice to the people of NWFP to call the judicial system change in the Malakand division 'Talibanisation'. He advised the present government to not follow the footsteps of the previous government and decide what is best for the country in the long term.