PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A promise to enforce Shariah law in a region of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province is part of a cease-fire deal with Taliban militants, officials say.
Provincial officials in the NWFP capital of Peshawar were set Monday to announce the enforcement of Shariah law (the legal code of Islam) by government courts in the Malakand region of the Swat Valley, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told the newspaper he welcomed the move to enforce Shariah regulations in Malakand, but added, "We will see how sincere the government is in their enforcement."
The agreement is part of a deal by Taliban militants to institute a unilateral 10-day cease-fire as a goodwill gesture, during which, Khan said, "Our fighters will not attack security personnel and government installations."
Unnamed sources told Dawn that a five-point draft agreement was signed after meetings between the government and Taliban negotiators were held at a Timergara, Pakistan, inn where Islamic militants last year set up a protest camp.
