Pakistan

Bombing kills five, government says Sharia deal not a sell-out

Article published on the 2009-02-17 Latest update 2009-02-17 14:32 TU

Security officials examine the bomb blast
(Photo: Reuters)

A car bomb killed five people and wounded 13 in the capital of Pakistan's violent North-West Frontier Province on Tuesday, while fighting in a nearby tribal area claimed ten lives. Meanwhile, Information Minister Sherry Rehman denied that a deal with armed Islamists in the troubled Swat Valley is a sign of weakness on the government's part.

The car bomb exploded near the home of local councillor Fahim-ur-Rehman, who had helped set up a local militia to curb Taliban activity last month.

Rehman was at home at the time of the blast but is safe, according to police. They say that the bomb destroyed a nearby school and two houses.

In the Khar tribal area helicopter gunships and artillery killed six Taliban fighters when they pounded underground bunkers, according to the army, which also says that Taliban rockets killed four people and wounded another four when they hit a paramilitary barracks, a school and houses.

The violence comes the day after the government signed an agreement to impose Sharia law in Malakand district of North-West Frontier Province. The district includes the Swat Valley, where Maulana Fazlullah - the so-called "Mullah Radio" - has led armed insurrection for some time.

Fazlullah's father-in-law, Soofi Mohammad, signed the deal and, according to his spokesperson, will set up a "peace camp" to persuade Taliban to disarm.

Fazlullah has yet to decide whether to extend a ten-day ceasefire agreed on Sunday. The military has vowed to hold fire but says troops will only leave "whenever the government feels normalcy has been restored and the writ of government has been re-established".

Information Minister Sherry Rehman on Tuesday denied that the deal was a "concession".

"It is in no way a sign of the state's weakness," she said. "The public will of the population of the Swat region is at the centre of all efforts and it should be taken into account while debating the merits of this agreement."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is in Japan, said that she needs to study the deal before commenting but declared that "extremist elements in Pakistan pose a direct threat" to Pakistan and other countries.