News
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Government, Fazlullah agree on ceasefire in Swat
* Militants will neither attack security forces nor set state installations on fire
* Govt agrees to withdraw security forces from areaStaff Report
MINGORA: The coalition government in the North West Frontier Province on Friday reached a “ceasefire agreement” with pro-Taliban rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah who had carried out a bloody campaign for the implementation of the Shariah law in the Swat district, a minister and an Awami National Party spokesman said. “We negotiated a successful ceasefire agreement with Fazlullah,” NWFP Environment Minister Wajid Ali Khan and Awami National Party Information Secretary Zahid Khan told Daily Times. Under the agreement, the militants will neither attack the security forces nor set girls’ schools or state installations on fire. The government will not carry out search operations against the militants. Withdrawal of troops: Zahid Khan said the agreement was “clinched in the maiden formal contact” with the pro-Taliban rebel cleric at Chakdara’s Fishing Hut in Lower Dir district. “We parleyed for seven hours. Bashir Ahmed Bilour represented the provincial government,” he said. The government, according to sources, agreed to the cleric’s demand for withdrawal of security forces from the area. However, no timeframe was set for the withdrawal of army. The Environment minister, who hails from Swat, said the next round of talks would take place next week. “Today, we sat together for the first time and worked out some confidence-building measures which include [the agreement that] both sides will not attack each other,” the minister told Daily Times. Maulana Muslim (the spokesman for the Taliban in Swat), Muhammad Amin and Abdul Ghafoor represented the Taliban while Senior Minister Bashir Bilour represented the provincial government in the talks. The meeting venue was kept secret because of security reasons and the ministers told their personal assistants and public relations officers that the meeting had been cancelled. A source close to the Taliban in Swat told Daily Times that the two sides signed a documented agreement. “Both sides agreed that [they] should work on a negotiated settlement,” he said.
Courtesy Daily Times