Pakistani President and Parliament Cave Finally To The Taliban, Sharia Law For Swat Valley Enacted Federally

You might remember that the Pakistani President held the right to not sign into law the Taliban's bid for sharia law in the Swat Valley until peace had been restored to the region. Well, all it took was the Taliban to rise up and INCREASE violence in the valley for the Pakistani President to finally cave in and enact the law at the national level - it's done, it's history...the Swat Valley of Pakistan is now officially under islamic sharia law. And the members of Pakistan's parliament are just as guilty of this colossal appeasement as they voted unanimously to leave the innocent civilians of the Swat Valley in the hands of Taliban clerics. Here's some of the details from Breitbart:

Under pressure from lawmakers including members of his own party, Pakistan's president on Monday signed a regulation that puts a northwest valley under Islamic law to achieve peace with Taliban militants who have brutalized the area.

Over the weekend, the federal government said Zardari wanted opinions from members of Parliament first.
The National Assembly unanimously approved the resolution urging President Asif Ali Zardari to back the agreement Monday, though one party boycotted. The vote came hours after a Taliban spokesman said lawmakers opposed to the deal would be considered apostates.
"The whole nation is united in its support of the Swat regulation and wants the president to approve it," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the start of a floor debate on the pact Monday.
Even without the president's approval, judges trained in Islamic law had already began hearing cases in Swat, and witnesses say the Taliban are in effective control of much of the region. Supporters say the changes in the legal system will speed up justice there, not lead to harsh punishments or restrict the rights of women.
Zahid Khan, information secretary for the Awami National Party, which leads the provincial government and has been repeatedly targeted by extremists, warned earlier that it will review its alliance with Zardari's party if the delays continued.

So the bottom line of all this is that there was NO negotiation on this deal - there never is with the Taliban or al Qaeda or Hamas or Hezbollah or any other damn terrorist group. The Pakistani government halted their onslaught of the Taliban in order to achieve peace in the region...what they got was a ten fold amount of violence that led to them basically giving away the whole district to the Taliban.

What this means basically is that the Taliban and probably al Qaeda will have an unrestricted haven in Pakistan and what it further means is that if NATO or U.S. predators attack the Swat Valley, the Taliban will be able to take it up with the Pakistani government and their supporters in the national parliament.

This is the epitome of a weak country, a weak government giving in to terrorist demands. Do any of you remember the "deal" that Osama bin Laden offered Europe many years ago after the Spain bombings? Can you imagine if the Europeans had caved to al Qaeda at the time on the "hope" that they wouldn't be targeted anymore? Well, the Pakistanis, in my view, have just cut their throat. They have put their blood in the water, the Taliban sharks will be circling soon and we will see district after district in NW Pakistan hammered with new attacks with the demand for the same sharia law "deal."

Pakistan president agrees to Islamic law in valley

Western and Pakistani critics say the agreement represents a dangerous surrender to extremists behind a campaign of terrorism in the Swat Valley and more broadly across the border region with Afghanistan.
Amid the criticism, Zardari delayed signing the agreement.
His official stance was that he wouldn't sign until peace is achieved in the area—but he never defined what that means. The delay led a hard-line cleric mediating the agreement to leave Swat in anger last week while also upsetting lawmakers from the region.
Over the weekend, the federal government said Zardari wanted opinions from members of Parliament first.
The National Assembly unanimously approved the resolution urging President Asif Ali Zardari to back the agreement Monday, though one party boycotted. The vote came hours after a Taliban spokesman said lawmakers opposed to the deal would be considered apostates.
"The whole nation is united in its support of the Swat regulation and wants the president to approve it," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said at the start of a floor debate on the pact Monday.
Even without the president's approval, judges trained in Islamic law had already began hearing cases in Swat, and witnesses say the Taliban are in effective control of much of the region. Supporters say the changes in the legal system will speed up justice there, not lead to harsh punishments or restrict the rights of women.
Zahid Khan, information secretary for the Awami National Party, which leads the provincial government and has been repeatedly targeted by extremists, warned earlier that it will review its alliance with Zardari's party if the delays continued.
The Awami National Party notes an Islamic legal system has long been a local demand in Swat, and said it is the best hope for ending the bloodshed.
In a sign that Zardari was searching early on for political cover to avoid backing the deal, a top member of his party on Monday accused the Taliban of failing to hold up their end of the bargain.
Those brokering the deal have given few specifics about conditions placed on the Taliban.
But Pakistan People's Party information secretary Fauzia Wahab said the Taliban were supposed to cooperate with security forces, denounce suicide attacks, close their training camps and turn over their weapons, among other measures.
"The agreement was two-way, it was not one-way," she said.
Muslim Khan, the Taliban spokesman, did not say whether the Taliban would punish legislators opposing the deal other than to say a militant council would discuss the matter. The charge of apostasy, or abandoning Islam, carries the death penalty in some quarters.
Lawmakers from the Muttahida Quami Movement, a party based in the southern city of Karachi that has a strong anti-Taliban stance, walked out of the session. "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint," said Farooq Sattar, a top party leader.
Under tremendous international pressure, Pakistan has acknowledged that part of the conspiracy behind November's siege of Mumbai was hatched on its soil. The attack left 164 people dead, along with nine of 10 gunmen.