Pakistan orders release of pro-Taliban militant leader
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - April 21, 2008 There was no immediate comment from the government on the
freeing of Sufi Muhammad, who is the father-in-law of the current
militant leader in Pakistan's Swat Valley.
Muhammad was jailed in 2002 and was shifted to a hospital in the
northwestern city of Peshawar five months ago because of poor
health.
Ajmal Khan, the deputy superintendent of Peshawar's main jail,
said the government on Monday "issued an order for the release of
Sufi Mohammad, and I have conveyed this order to him."
Shortly after, Muhammad left the hospital in a vehicle under
police escort, accompanied by followers wearing black turbans, said
Zafar Khan, a paramedic at the hospital.
Muhammad founded the Tehrik Nifaz-e-Sharia Mohammed - or
Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law - which sent thousands
of volunteers to fight in Afghanistan against the U.S.-led invasion
that toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.
Supporters of his son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah, took control of
much of the Swat Valley last year until Pakistan's army won it back
in a bloody military operation.
The group wants a Taliban-like system in Pakistan, including
compulsory beards for men, mandatory veils for women and the
outlawing of light entertainment including music and television.
President Pervez Musharraf outlawed the group in early 2002, and
Muhammad was arrested when he returned to Pakistan after fighting
in Afghanistan. He was sentenced in November 2002 to three years in
prison on a weapons charge but had remained in custody.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the military was not
involved in the government's decision to release Muhammad.
He said 90 percent of the valley was peaceful, but that the army
was still conducting occasional search operations against militant
holdouts and had recently set up a checkpoint at Fazlullah's former
headquarters to stop followers from slipping back in the area. No
decision has been made to withdraw the army, Abbas said.
Also Monday, the Supreme Court struck down a law requiring
candidates for parliament to have bachelor's degrees, clearing the
way for the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to run
for a seat and possibly prime minister.
The ruling was another sign of Musharraf's dwindling influence.
He introduced the degree requirement in 2002, supposedly to improve
the caliber of lawmakers.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar said the
provision was "declared to be void" after a seven-judge panel
heard arguments that it discriminated against a large portion of
the Pakistani population.
Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who took over her party's
leadership after her December assassination, has indicated that he
might run for a parliament seat in June. Zardari has said he has a
degree, but its nature is uncertain and even his party had
acknowledged it was not sure if Zardari would qualify under
Pakistani law.
Zardari has not ruled out becoming prime minister at some point.
Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party is now leading a coalition
government packed with Musharraf foes after routing loyalists of
the U.S.-backed president in Feb. 18 elections. Musharraf's
popularity has plunged in the last year, especially due to anger
over his alliance with the U.S. in the war on terror.
The degree requirement was challenged by Nasir Mahmood, a
politician from a hardline Islamist party who plans to contest a
parliament seat in a by-election, said his lawyer, Sen. Kamran
Murtaza.
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Associated Press Writer Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad, Pakistan
contributed to this report.
