Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari

PAKISTAN: ISLAMIC LAW NOW OFFICIAL FOR SWAT VALLEY

April 13, 2009: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari signed a controversial bill introducing Islamic Sharia law to the Swat region.
The move comes after parliament passed a resolution urging Mr Zardari to honour a promise made to the Taleban. The implementation of Islamic justice was agreed in February in return for an end to the Taleban insurgency.
Mr Zardari had previously resisted signing the deal, which has been criticised by his Western allies.
There are concerns it could lead to human rights abuses and provide help to militants in the region. But Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said parliament had committed itself to implementing the Sharia system.
The bill introducing Sharia courts in the troubled Malakand division, comprising six north-western districts including Swat, was sent to parliament for consideration.
The parliament then unanimously passed a resolution urging Mr Zardari to sign the deal.
One party, the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), abstained from the vote, with members saying they had "apprehensions" about the agreement.
"We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint," the Associated Press quoted Farooq Sattar, an MQM party leader, as saying.
A spokesman for the Taleban, Muslim Khan, told the Associated Press news agency that MPs who opposed the deal in parliament would be considered apostates.
Swat is mostly under Taleban control. Thousands of people have fled and hundreds of schools have been destroyed since they began their insurgency there in 2007. Sharia courts began operating last month and have been welcomed by many in the region as a quick and efficient means of justice. (Sources: Bbc, 13/04/2009)