Pakistani Taliban will not lay down their arms in Swat valley as part of a deal that included the introduction of sharia law but will take their "struggle" to new areas, a militant spokesman said on Wednesday. President Asif Ali Zardari, under pressure from conservatives, signed a regulation on Monday imposing Sharia law in the Swat valley to end Taliban violence.
Details of the deal have not been made public but government officials backing the pact have said part of it was that militants would give up their arms. But a Pakistani Taliban spokesman in Swat said they would be keeping their guns. "Sharia doesnt permit us to lay down arms," Muslim Khan said by telephone. "If a government, either in Pakistan or Afghanistan, continues anti-Muslim policies, its out of the question that Taliban lay down their arms."
The government has struggled to come up with an effective strategy, alternating in different areas between military offensives and peace deals. But the militants have been gaining strength and violence in both Pakistan and Afghanistan has been on the rise.
Some Taliban fighters last week moved out of Swat and into Buner district, only 100 km (60 miles) from Islamabad, and Khan said his men would push into new areas. "When we achieve our goal at one place, there are other areas where we need to struggle for it," he said.
Khan said militants would go to Afghanistan to fight US-led forces if Afghan Taliban called for help. "Our struggle is for a cause and thats to enforce Allahs rule on Allahs land. We will send mujahideen to Afghanistan if they demand them," he said.
One security analyst, retired Brigadier Syed Mehmood Shah, said peace could be found if the government disarmed the militants: "The agreement should be given a chance." But another said the Swat militants were part of an expanding network. "There is no comprehensive counter-insurgency strategy from the military or government. They are not taking it seriously," said Khadim Hussain of the Aryana Institute think-tank.