Pakistan agrees to more Islamic rules in Swat

Pakistan continues to cede its authority to the Taliban. It's starting to look to me as though the new government is just a front group to pave the way for a total takeover of the Taliban.

It's high time for the US to take all of Pakistan's nuclear weapons into protective custody before the Taliban get their hands on them.

FROM IHT.COM:

Pakistan agrees to more Islamic rules in Swat
The Associated Press Published: March 5, 2009

MINGORA, Pakistan:
Pakistani authorities have agreed to close shops at prayer times and crack down on prostitution and drug dealers as part of a proposed peace deal with militants that will impose Islamic law in a northwest valley.
The latest round of talks appear to expand the scope of what Pakistan had said it would do in the Swat Valley to pacify the Taliban, and it could prompt more criticism by Western officials and human rights activists that Pakistan is creating a haven for the militants.

Pakistani officials have said militants will have to agree not to display their weapons under any deal, but have not said whether they will have to give them up.

Taliban insurgents have made great gains against the Pakistani military in Swat, a former tourist haven, over the past year in fighting that has killed hundreds and forced up to one-third of the area's 1.5 million residents to flee.
Both sides agreed in February to a cease-fire, but the truce has been violated at least two times by militant attacks on security convoys. Many analysts think any deal will be short-lived.

The peace talks have concerned critics who worry Pakistan is conceding to militants a large swath of its territory, one that is close to tribal regions where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have long had strongholds.

Officials had described the efforts to impose Islamic rule until now as largely confined to changes in the justice system. But 17 new points emerged in a Wednesday meeting involving provincial government officials, a Taliban member and representatives of a pro-Taliban cleric mediating the talks.
Syed Mohammad Javed, commissioner of a geographic division that includes the valley, provided the list to The Associated Press and said provincial government officials had agreed to abide by it.

"The meeting restored the trust" lost after the cease-fire violations, he said.
According to the list, authorities have agreed to ban "obscene" films, crack down on corrupt officials and take "stern action" against drug dealers. Alleged prostitutes and their pimps will also face a crackdown. In Swat, that could be a reference to the area's famed dancing girls and their employers.
Shops are also to close during prayer times, and women are to inherit property and assets in line with Islamic law, which typically gives them half of what men receive. Classes about the Islamic holy book, the Quran, will be offered in prisons.

Pakistani officials have already promised that girls would be allowed to attend school — something the militants tried to ban — and the agreement Wednesday did not mention female education.