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Sufi, Mullah Fazlullah discuss peace in Swat

* TNSM delegation tries to convince Taliban leaders to lay down arms
* Fazlullah seeks one day to consult his shura

MINGORA: Swat Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah discussed with TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad the Swat peace deal in a meeting at an undisclosed location in the Matta tehsil of the restive district on Thursday.

TNSM spokesman Izzat Khan told Daily Times Sufi and his delegation tried to convince Fazlullah and other Taliban leaders to disarm. He said that the TNSM chief told the Taliban that he too had given up his protest after the announcement that sharia law would be implemented in the Malakand division.

The spokesman said Fazlullah has sought one day for consultation with his shura (council). He would talk to his aides after the Friday prayer today to make a decision, Izzat Khan said.

NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain visited the main Swat city of Mingora on Thursday and praised an earlier Taliban decision of a 10-day ceasefire.

He condemned the killing of a reporter in the city, warning that a ‘third hand’ could be trying to disrupt the peace process.

Sufi Muhammad had promised to use his influence to push the Taliban in the former tourist resort of Swat to stop fighting in exchange for a public vow by the government to impose sharia law in the region.

“They are discussing how to ensure peace and how to ensure the provision of speedy justice to the people,” Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told AP. ghulam farooq/ap

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