Pakistan allows Taliban rule of Islamic law

THE president of Pakistan has signed an agreement to put an area under Islamic Sharia law as part of a peace deal with the Taliban.

Asif Ali Zardari caved in to militants who have terrorised the Swat Valley for nearly two years after they demanded a new justice system. He had come under intense pressure from members of his own party and other politicians to approve the change.

Critics say the agreement is a surrender to extremists whose tactics include beheading opponents and burning girls' schools. It could also provide a sanctuary for militants close to Afghanistan. Mr Zardari's spokeswoman, Farahnaz Ispahani, confirmed the president signed the law late yesterday after the country's National Assembly voted in favour.

Members of the Muttahida Quami Movement, an anti-Taliban party based in Karachi, walked out of parliament before the vote. "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint," said Farooq Sattar, a party leader. A spokesman for Swat's provincial government said: "Now nobody has any moral justification to take up arms."

The Taliban warned that politicians who voted against the deal were guilty of apostasy, or abandoning Islam, which can carry the death penalty.