The day after the announcement of a peace deal between the Islamabad government and a section of the Taliban in northwestern Pakistan, unknown men kidnapped and shot dead a local television reporter covering events linked to the deal. Geo Television's Musa Khankhel, 28, was accompanying the peace caravan headed by Maulana Sufi Mohammed, the octogenarian head of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), the Movement for the Enforcement of Sharia Law.
Sufi's caravan of some 300 vehicles had driven from Mingora to Matta in Swat, where he was expected to meet with his (reportedly estranged) son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, and prevail upon him to lay down arms. Fazlullah, known as 'Maulana Radio' because of his effective use of FM radio for the sake of both publicity and terrorising his opponents, has been fighting ostensibly for the imposition of Sharia law in Malakand division, which includes the Swat Valley. The deal, in which the government promised the TNSM that it would impose Sharia – essentially restoring a system of quick justice in return for the militants laying down arms – took the wind out of Fazlullah's sails and heralded a truce, at least for now. It also nearly coincided with the first visit to the region by the new US envoy Richard Holbrooke, who in the past has emphasised the importance of negotiating with Taliban militants.
Many remain unhappy about the deal, however. The murder of Khankhel, who had been an active reporter, appears to be aimed at upsetting the fragile peace. His killing sent shock waves through the rest of Pakistan, re-emphasising how dangerous it is for journalists and other non-combatants in the conflict-ravaged northwestern areas of the country. The peace deal also triggered a strong negative reaction from Pakistani civil society, as well as from New Delhi, the Western governments and human-rights organisations alike. The critics argue that the agreement amounts to Islamabad's capitulation to the militants – 'rewarding' them for their violence and justifying their human-rights abuses in the affected districts, the divisions of Kohistan and Malakand, which includes the Swat Valley.
Supporters of the deal, meanwhile, point out that the Nizam-e-Adl (System of Islamic Justice) Regulation that the government has promised is not particularly different from the previous judicial systems in these areas. Sufi Mohammed, who formed the TNSM in 1988, unilaterally announced the imposition of a Nizam-e-Adl system in November 1994, just as the Taliban captured Kandahar. In 1999, Nawaz Sharif enacted some amendments to this system, but nonetheless allowed it to continue.