Just over six weeks ago, the Pakistani government cut a deal with the Taliban to impose sharia, or Islamic law, in a region that encompasses more than one-third of the Northwest Frontier Province, one of Pakistan’s four provinces. The government claimed the agreement was negotiated from a position of strength, and the imposition of sharia would improve the situation for those living in the Swat valley. So how are things going for the Pakistanis living in Swat? Predictably, the Taliban have taken little time to dispense brutal punishments for minor infractions. Days ago, the Taliban publicly whipped a young woman for having the temerity of leaving her home with a man who was not her husband. The Nation, a Pakistani newspaper, describes the punishment:
The Taliban proudly took credit for the punishment:
In carrying out this punishment, the Taliban have violated the agreement with the government several times. Cases such as this are supposed to be put forth to a local Islamic court for judgment. This wasn’t done. And the Taliban are forbidden from carrying arms in Swat. But these violations are minor compared to the kidnappings and murders of security forces in Swat since mid-February. Fareed Zakaria tells us we should learn to live with radical Islamist groups like the Taliban in Swat. They’re no threat to Western security, Zakaria would have you believe. Those suicide attacks the Swat Taliban carried out scores of times? Merely local expressions of disenfranchisement. And the stonings and whippings are carried out by barbarians who have no interest in global politics:
Oddly enough, “the most difficult example” — the Taliban — are really easiest example of how allowing these groups to thrive threatens our national security. Perhaps Zakaria forgets that al Qaeda plotted 9-11 from Afghan soil, under the protection of Mullah Omar’s Taliban. Or that Mullah Omar defiantly refused to hand over al Qaeda leaders under his care. Or that the plots and attacks against the West since 9-11 were hatched in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which are under Taliban control. Or that groups like al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in North Africa and Shabaab in Somalia have openly threatened to attack the West. Oh, and by the way, many of their operatives have trained in camps run by the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. How easily we forget.
