a deal with the Taliban.
The Pakistani government has agreed to impose Islamic law in the Swat Valley region — once a tourist paradise — after local Taliban leaders said that would have to be part of any peace deal to end fighting in the area.
"We have agreed to end all non-Islamic laws in the region," said Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, chief minister of the valley’s North West Frontier Province. "This was the peoples’ demand."
It’s not as if the "people" had much choice. Extremists have gained influence through beheadings and burning girls’ schools. The Swat Taliban’s version of Islamic law — otherwise known as Sharia — is especially horrific, banning female education, forbidding many forms of entertainment and barely letting women go outdoors. Authorities are reportedly setting up so-called qazi courts to apply strict Sharia law. And it doesn’t bode well for the area’s citizens. From Britain’s Times:
The move to Sharia is likely to make the region’s already conservative culture even more repressive. Many extremists in northwest Pakistan favor the exceptionally strict brand of Sharia the Taliban imposed in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion in 2001, where female education and music were banned. The Swat Taliban have declared a ban on girls’ education. Many civilians in the region support an Islamic justice system, and some of the regulations under discussion have been on the books but never implemented.
Without a doubt, the Pakistani government’s agreement hurts everyone. The country seems to be conceding to a way of life that oppresses women and girls, and wreaks violence on many who live within its societies. Let’s hope Pakistan rethinks this horrible decision. The U.S. should speak out against this so-called "peace deal."
Click here to read wOw’s story on Sharia finance and how some think the U.S. banking bailout may be funding Sharia-adhering terror groups.
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