BanglaBhoot
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By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD -- When Pakistani authorities released Sufi Mohammed from prison a year ago, they saw a once-militant firebrand cleric who was ready to talk peace and could convince Taliban insurgents to lay down their weapons.
Their confidence appeared well-founded as Mr. Mohammed negotiated a peace deal in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had fought the Pakistani army to a standstill.
But today that peace deal, which was reached in February, lies in tatters as the Taliban and the Pakistani army square off amid accusations of betrayal from both sides. Mr. Mohammed's short-lived reputation as a conciliator and moderate Islamist who can forge common ground between the state and the insurgents also appears to be history.
Mr. Mohammed's shift shows the limits of negotiating with Islamist militants perceived to be moderate -- and could lead U.S. officials to rethink plans to reach out to some elements of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
The U.S. criticized the Swat deal, saying it would permit the Taliban to regroup and expand their reach. The militants have tried to do exactly that in the past month by seizing districts next to Swat, prompting the army to push them back to the valley. Fighting has since resumed in Swat, which is home to 1.5 million people. On Thursday, the military continued to pound militant strongholds in the valley and surrounding areas. Among the dead was Mr. Mohammed's son Maulana Kifayatullah, a spokesman for the cleric said.
The Red Cross said Thursday that up to half a million people may have been forced from Swat and surrounding areas by the latest fighting.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a televised address Thursday night, didn't directly repudiate the peace deal, but said: "In order to restore the honor and dignity of our homeland and to protect the people, the armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists" in Swat.
The frail 78-year-old Mr. Mohammed, who has a decadeslong history as a political and militant leader in the area, negotiated the truce on behalf of his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, who leads the Taliban in Swat.
Mr. Mohammed pledged last year to work for "peace and the restoration of the government's writ" in Swat. But recently he has encouraged Taliban defiance and aired extremist views, calling democracy "un-Islamic" and saying women shouldn't be allowed outside their homes except for the pilgrimage to Mecca.
"How can people who believe in democracy be expected to enforce the ideals of Shariah," or Islamic law, he said in a television interview Sunday.
Whether his shift is a sign of his need to win over Mr. Fazlullah's men or an expression of his true views is hard to say. His aides insist he is committed to peace and ready for fresh talks with the government.
But U.S. officials and analysts in Pakistan say the Swat deal shows it is the men with weapons -- ordinarily the hardest core of extremists -- who decide on what terms peace will come. Men like Mr. Mohammed must find favor with them to maintain their positions.
The deals "actually neutralize the moderate people," said Samina Ahmed, the South Asia program director for the International Crisis Group. "Where are they now? They're not in Swat. They're fleeing for their lives."
The provincial government handled negotiations with Mr. Mohammed. Sardar Hussain Babak, the education minister of North West Frontier Province, where Swat is located, called the cleric a "peaceful man."
But Mr. Babak said he doesn't think Mr. Mohammed "will convince those who have guns to lay down their guns because the intentions of these people are now very clear."
Mr. Mohammed got his start in Islamic politics in the 1980s, with Pakistan's biggest mainstream Islamic political party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. He quit after losing a local election in Lower Dir district, where he was raised and now lives.
By the early 1990s, he had formed an armed group whose aim, like the current insurgency, was to see a harsh form of Islamic law imposed in the valley.
Following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Mr. Mohammed led 5,000 followers across the border to battle American soldiers and their Afghan allies. Upon his return in 2002, he was jailed and Pakistan banned his group as a terrorist outfit.
Six years later, authorities released him, hoping he would draw his old supporters away from his son-in-law, who had aligned himself with the Tehrik-e-Taliban, a loose amalgamation of factions fighting to overthrow the government.
That didn't happen. But Mr. Mohammed did eventually broker the truce, which called for the imposition of Islamic law in Swat and surrounding areas.
In the absence of any clear definition of what kind of Islamic law would prevail in the valley, the Taliban -- with Mr. Mohammed's support -- began imposing their own, harsh brand of justice and driving out any officials, police or ordinary people who opposed them.
Then as the Taliban began moving into neighboring districts, Mr. Mohammed supported them, saying the group needed to expand to make sure Shariah was enforced.
Even as the peace deal collapsed, Mr. Mohammed remained extreme. In the TV interview Sunday, he cited Taliban rule in Afghanistan -- known for its brutal treatment of women and political opponents and the banning of movies, music, dancing and most other forms of entertainment -- as the only true Islamic system.
Pakistan Cleric, Once a Peacemaker, Backs Taliban - WSJ.com
ISLAMABAD -- When Pakistani authorities released Sufi Mohammed from prison a year ago, they saw a once-militant firebrand cleric who was ready to talk peace and could convince Taliban insurgents to lay down their weapons.
Their confidence appeared well-founded as Mr. Mohammed negotiated a peace deal in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had fought the Pakistani army to a standstill.
But today that peace deal, which was reached in February, lies in tatters as the Taliban and the Pakistani army square off amid accusations of betrayal from both sides. Mr. Mohammed's short-lived reputation as a conciliator and moderate Islamist who can forge common ground between the state and the insurgents also appears to be history.
Mr. Mohammed's shift shows the limits of negotiating with Islamist militants perceived to be moderate -- and could lead U.S. officials to rethink plans to reach out to some elements of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
The U.S. criticized the Swat deal, saying it would permit the Taliban to regroup and expand their reach. The militants have tried to do exactly that in the past month by seizing districts next to Swat, prompting the army to push them back to the valley. Fighting has since resumed in Swat, which is home to 1.5 million people. On Thursday, the military continued to pound militant strongholds in the valley and surrounding areas. Among the dead was Mr. Mohammed's son Maulana Kifayatullah, a spokesman for the cleric said.
The Red Cross said Thursday that up to half a million people may have been forced from Swat and surrounding areas by the latest fighting.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a televised address Thursday night, didn't directly repudiate the peace deal, but said: "In order to restore the honor and dignity of our homeland and to protect the people, the armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists" in Swat.
The frail 78-year-old Mr. Mohammed, who has a decadeslong history as a political and militant leader in the area, negotiated the truce on behalf of his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, who leads the Taliban in Swat.
Mr. Mohammed pledged last year to work for "peace and the restoration of the government's writ" in Swat. But recently he has encouraged Taliban defiance and aired extremist views, calling democracy "un-Islamic" and saying women shouldn't be allowed outside their homes except for the pilgrimage to Mecca.
"How can people who believe in democracy be expected to enforce the ideals of Shariah," or Islamic law, he said in a television interview Sunday.
Whether his shift is a sign of his need to win over Mr. Fazlullah's men or an expression of his true views is hard to say. His aides insist he is committed to peace and ready for fresh talks with the government.
But U.S. officials and analysts in Pakistan say the Swat deal shows it is the men with weapons -- ordinarily the hardest core of extremists -- who decide on what terms peace will come. Men like Mr. Mohammed must find favor with them to maintain their positions.
The deals "actually neutralize the moderate people," said Samina Ahmed, the South Asia program director for the International Crisis Group. "Where are they now? They're not in Swat. They're fleeing for their lives."
The provincial government handled negotiations with Mr. Mohammed. Sardar Hussain Babak, the education minister of North West Frontier Province, where Swat is located, called the cleric a "peaceful man."
But Mr. Babak said he doesn't think Mr. Mohammed "will convince those who have guns to lay down their guns because the intentions of these people are now very clear."
Mr. Mohammed got his start in Islamic politics in the 1980s, with Pakistan's biggest mainstream Islamic political party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. He quit after losing a local election in Lower Dir district, where he was raised and now lives.
By the early 1990s, he had formed an armed group whose aim, like the current insurgency, was to see a harsh form of Islamic law imposed in the valley.
Following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Mr. Mohammed led 5,000 followers across the border to battle American soldiers and their Afghan allies. Upon his return in 2002, he was jailed and Pakistan banned his group as a terrorist outfit.
Six years later, authorities released him, hoping he would draw his old supporters away from his son-in-law, who had aligned himself with the Tehrik-e-Taliban, a loose amalgamation of factions fighting to overthrow the government.
That didn't happen. But Mr. Mohammed did eventually broker the truce, which called for the imposition of Islamic law in Swat and surrounding areas.
In the absence of any clear definition of what kind of Islamic law would prevail in the valley, the Taliban -- with Mr. Mohammed's support -- began imposing their own, harsh brand of justice and driving out any officials, police or ordinary people who opposed them.
Then as the Taliban began moving into neighboring districts, Mr. Mohammed supported them, saying the group needed to expand to make sure Shariah was enforced.
Even as the peace deal collapsed, Mr. Mohammed remained extreme. In the TV interview Sunday, he cited Taliban rule in Afghanistan -- known for its brutal treatment of women and political opponents and the banning of movies, music, dancing and most other forms of entertainment -- as the only true Islamic system.
Pakistan Cleric, Once a Peacemaker, Backs Taliban - WSJ.com
