The Pakistani Taliban says it wants to return to a peace deal that recently collapsed, sparking an ongoing massive military operation, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Taliban militants in Swat Valley have announced that they are willing to disarm if the government allows sharia, or Islamic law, to be implemented in the region, a spokesman for Taliban mediator Sufi Mohammed said. Mohammed negotiated the previous deal between the Pakistani Taliban and the government, which called for the same arrangement. That deal fell apart because the Taliban refused to disarm and moved into the Buner district, located outside of the region that the government allowed them to control. The government has said it will only allow sharia if it does not contradict Pakistan’s constitution. There are many interpretations of Islamic law, but the Taliban’s version has curbed human rights, forcing women indoors, men to grow beards, and shops to stop selling movies and music.
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The military operation against the Taliban in northwest Pakistan has resulted in mass exodus of refugees. According to the most recent United Nations numbers, about 2.4 million Pakistanis have registered as displaced persons since May 2.
