Afghanistan warned on Tuesday that Pakistan's deal to allow Taliban to impose Sharia law in part of the country may have "dire consequences" for the region and could harm ties between the neighbours. The criticism came after President Asif Ali Zardari signed an accord to put the vast Malakand district under Sharia law as part of efforts to end an insurgency, despite fears that it could encourage extremism.
"We do not interfere in Pakistan's internal affairs," President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, told reporters in response to a question about the deal. However there were concerns that "dealing with terrorists and handing over parts of one country to terrorists could have dire consequences in the long term", he said. Malakand is home to around three million people and includes the Swat valley.
A former ski resort and jewel in the crown of Pakistani tourism until the central government lost control when cleric Maulana Fazlullah launched a campaign to enforce Taliban-style sharia. Hamidzada added that "since any deal with terrorist groups can affect our people and our country's security, we request Pakistan, before any such deals, take into consideration its negative impacts on relations between the two countries".