Pakistan Faces Split On Sharia Law Peace Accord -- The AustralianA CONTROVERSIAL peace deal struck in Pakistan's Swat Valley that will see the region submit to Sharia law has exposed deep divisions in the Pakistani Government, with President Asif Ali Zardari resisting pressure for a second day to sign off on the agreement.
The deal between local officials in the left-leaning Awami National Party and pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Mohammad hung in the balance last night, with neither the central Pakistan Government nor militants willing to formalise the accord.
Local Swat Valley officials say the agreement, signed on Monday, delivers an end to a bloody insurgency by Taliban-linked militants in the area, a former tourist attraction 160km north of Islamabad. They deny it will usher in the same repressive measures enforced by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan from 1996-2001.
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