Nizam-e-Adl in Swat
By Zafar Hilaly
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The surrender of Swat politically was as humiliating as that of Dacca was militarily. It matters not that Adl is good or bad, barbaric or Islamic; or that court judgements will be super-quick or delayed; or whether presiding officials are called Qazis or Justices. What matters is that the agreement was extracted by force and specifically by the slaughter, amputations, abductions, rape and terrorising of innocent citizens.
Again it matters not that once upon a time the laws and practices under Adl existed as part of the customary law of Swat. So did suttee in India; infanticide in Arabia and karo-kari in Pakistan but they will never be enacted into law notwithstanding demands of locals or a parliamentary resolution. But it is unconscionable that Swati women should be denied education and work when no less a person than the Prophet (pbuh) permitted it in Islam.
Muslim Khan, the ubiquitous Taliban spokesman announced gleefully that there would be more executions, showing off a list of those the Taliban want to try under the new Adl Courts. His list included senior government servants, a woman whose husband serves in the US military and many others.
Already Swat is full of Taliban militants, who in due course will invite drone attacks. They will go about their deadly task; in which case Nizam-e-Adl will have brought death and destruction rather than peace to Swat.
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