Peace deal with Taliban could be reviewed: Gilani

The Pakistani PM said his government could review the deal with the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley if peace is not restored in the area.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said that his government could review the peace deal with the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley if peace is not restored in the area.

“If peace is not restored (in Swat),one can rethink and revisit (the peace deal in the region),” Gilani told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to the housing ministry.

He was responding to a question on militants from Swat extending their influence to other areas like Buner,a district located just 100 km from Islamabad,despite the agreement signed by North West Frontier Province government and religious hardliners to quell the Taliban insurgency.

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President Asif Ali Zardari recently endorsed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation,which envisages the enforcement of Islamic law in Swat,in accordance with the peace deal for the region.

However,the Taliban have resumed armed patrolling in Swat and taken over nearby areas like Buner,where they have established bunkers and check posts.

Gilani made it clear that the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation was “bracketed with the restoration of peace” in Swat and the rest of Pakistan. The Regulation was approved by the President only after parliament endorsed it,he added.

The premier also dismissed comments by Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad that democracy and the superior judiciary are “un-Islamic”,describing them as “the opinions of individuals”.

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Sufi Muhammad,who is the father-in-law of Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah,has been negotiating with the militants in Swat. He has also called for the enforcement of Shariah across Pakistan.

Gilani compared Sufi Muhammad to dictators who had assumed power in Pakistan in the past and asked why the media had not questioned their actions,which too had disregarded the constitution and democracy.

He said militancy had spread in Pakistan after the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.

“After they left,the vacuum in the area was filled by militants,” he said,adding his government had inherited the problem of terrorism.

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Terrorism cannot be contained by individuals or any one party and all political forces should join hands to fight the menace,he said.

Gilani said a parliamentary committee on national security had submitted its report with recommendation. This report will be used as the basis of a new national policy to combat terrorism.

President Zardari will discuss this policy with American leaders during his visit to the US next month,he added.