Pakistan, the Taliban, and Peace Through Diplomacy

Pakistan's national government has found a peaceful means of dealing with the Taliban: giving them what they want. The North West Frontier Province's Malakand region - including the Swat Valley - will be under Islamic law.

Taliban-style, that is.

Maybe it's the best that Pakistan's leadership could do.

If You Liked Afghanistan in the Nineties, You'll Love Tomorrow's Swat

I'm not at all comfortable with the situation: I remember what the Taliban did when they were running Afghanistan. And, although someone explained that blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas was the fault of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the United Nations, and the world community in general (I'm not making this up), I think the Taliban is responsible. It was their explosives, used at their orders.

I regret the ancient statues' destruction, and believe that the AIIS slide show of the Bamiyan Buddhas just isn't the same as having the real thing available.

The real problem with the Taliban is that they don't stop with destroying statues that offend their notion of what Islam ought to be. Between flogging women, cutting off thieves' hands, and stoning adulterers (the women, anyway), the Taliban has a rather blemished record when it comes to human rights.

Islamic Law, Taliban-Style

The Taliban and their supporters wanted their notion of good old-fashioned Islamic law in the northwestern part of Pakistan. So far, in northwest Pakistan, they've destroyed

• Girl's schools
• Music shops
• Barbers
  • (timesonline didn't say whether it was Barber shops or Barbers

Now that that they've gotten the green light from Islamabad, they may start getting more hard nosed about making people follow their particular flavor of Islam.

I'm glad I don't live there.

Related posts:

• "Pakistan, India, Mumbai, Nuclear Weapons, and Pashtunistan: Simple This Isn't"
  (December 27, 2008)
• "Taliban Kills Christian Aid Worker, Striking Another Blow for Islam"
  (October 20, 2008)
  Particularly
  • "With Friends Like This, Islam Doesn't Need Enemies"
• "Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Foreign Troops: One Issue, Two Approaches"
  (September 16, 2008)
• "Honor Killing is Against Islam, Islamic Party Members Say"
  (September 7, 2008)
• "Pakistan, Terrorists, and the Mohmand Frontier Region: America is to Blame"
  (June 20, 2008)
• "Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Another Mosque Blows Up"
  (June 16, 2008)
• "Afghanistan's Arghandab District and the Taliban: More Than a Spot of Trouble"
  (June 16, 2008)
• "Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Taliban, Diplomacy, and Common Sense"
  (June 16, 2008)
• " 'They're all Muslims' - This Does Not Help"
  (December 29, 2007)
• "When Osama Talks, People Listen" excerpt
  (September 8, 2007)

News and views:

• "Pakistani woman watches Taliban take over town she loves"
  CNN (February 17, 2009)
• "Int'l community worried over deal between Pak and Taliban"
  Press Trust of India (February 17, 2009)
• "Swat valley locals happy to buy Sharia peace"
  Times of India (February 17, 2009)
• "Compromise in Swat: is the Pakistan army up to fighting insurgency?"
  Perspectives on Pakistan, Reuters Blogs (February 17, 2009)
• "Why the Taliban are destroying Buddhas"
  USA Today (March 22, 2001)