A cleric was Thursday trying to convince Taliban militants in Swat valley to disarm under an agreement that would partially enforce sharia in the region, a spokesman of the cleric said. The cleric Maulana Sufi Mohammad travelled to Swat after signing a peace deal with the regional government in North West Frontier Province on Monday to hold talks with his son in law Maulana Fazlullah.
His son Fazlullah Farooq said a 10-member delegation had reached Peuchar, a small village where militants' headquarter is located at more than 8,500 altitude in Koh Hindu Kush range at, to discuss the peace agreement. "If the initial talks are successful than the two leaders will meet at some undisclosed location to finalise the matters," he added.
Under the peace agreement the authorities agreed to establish Islamic courts in Swat and six other districts in the Malakand region and Kohistan district of Hazara area, a move that has been received with skepticism by many western allies who want to see Pakistan eliminating militants' hideouts on its soil.