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On 16 Feb. 2009, NWFP government and militants signed a deal according to which the government will implement Islamic Sharia in Malakand division under Nizam-e-Adal Regulations. The immediate effect of this deal was a sudden ceasefire in Swat's troubled areas and life returned to normal in the valley that had earlier suffered badly due to fierce fighting between the militants and the law enforcing agencies.
Peace is the need of the hour and a legitimate right of all Pakistanis in the region. As a nation Pakistanis expect that global community will also appreciate the efforts for peace, but ironically there are elements that hold the opposite view and are confusing the world about peace and the Sharia Law. A deal demands that the concerned signatories honor the agreement with their actions. The fate of the current truce hangs on the level of commitment by both parties in honoring their word. In order to understand the various aspects of the deal a brief look at the main points is necessary. Sharia law would be implemented in Swat and Malakand agencies
Security forces will gradually withdraw from the region
The government and the Taliban would exchange prisoners
Militants would recognize the writ of the government and cooperate with security forces
Taliban would halt attacks on barber and music shops
Ban on display of weapons by militants in public
Taliban would lay down heavy weapons (rockets, mortars)
Taliban would close down training camps
Taliban would denounce suicide attacks
A ban would be placed on raising private militias
Taliban will cooperate with the government to vaccinate children against diseases like polio
Fazlullah's madrassa, the Imam Dheri would be turned into an Islamic university
Only licensed FM radio stations would be allowed to operate in the region
Taliban would allow women to "perform their duties at the workplace without any fear." A cursory look at these points would show that the deal demands a lot more from the militants than the government in return. The people of Swat and the government of NWFP have emerged victorious rather than the militants as is being portrayed by the many self-acclaimed South Asian experts serving US interests. A detailed comparison of the demands that each signatory will have to comply with will help in understanding the long term and short term gains or losses further:- The government will benefit from the deal by bringing the two-year long violence to an end, shutting down of training camps, lifting of ban on education, closing down of illegal FM radio stations, release of captured military and civilian government officials and a halt in suicide bombings. The militants will gain through implementation of Nizam-e-Adal regulations, gradual release of militants gradually and withdrawal of Pakistan Army after peace has been ensured. Implementation of Nizam-e-Adal is nothing new as it was promised by previous governments during the 90s. The current government is similarly obliged to fulfill this longstanding demand of the people of Swat. However, the most annoying aspect for regional and international stakeholders would be withdrawal of the military from the area. From the military point of view it is again the Pakistan Army that has gained. Though the militants will lay down their firearms and abandon illegal check posts, yet the Pakistan Army will remain in the area so as not to allow return of the militants at some stage, as being propagated by international media. The prominent gain for Pakistan is an end to a fight between the army and the militants in which civilians were suffering. The US seems to have not liked the deal much. It is beyond ordinary comprehension why the US always thinks that only military use can bring peace when a more reliable and workable solution is available to counter terrorism i.e. eliminating the root cause. By agreeing to implement Nizam-e-Adal, the government has done exactly the same. This was the biggest cause of the militants' surge in Swat. Pakistan has made it clear that 'Adal' is nothing more than a system of justice for the people demanding it. NATO is also worried about the latest developments in Pakistan. NATO commanders in Afghanistan consider a deal with the militants as a surrender by the government of Pakistan whose foreign office spokesman said that the statements by NATO and Britain about the peace deal in Swat are 'mostly speculative', making it clear that implementation of the 'Nizam-e-Adal regulations' was sequentially linked to the restoration of peace in the area. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on accused Pakistan of still being in the denial mode over cross-border terrorism and called the peace deal as a matter of concern for India. On the surface it seems that Swat is no business of India but underneath there is a great deal that the Indians have to do in Swat and FATA. It was pointed out by the DG ISPR that the foreign intervention in Swat by some hostile agencies was an established fact, though the government did not name the exact foreign intelligence agencies. It is common knowledge that many RAW operatives were captured or killed in the region during operation Rah-e-Haq. The previous and current government did not fully expose this sinister game, probably due to strong US intervention in Islamabad's decisions regarding the War on Terror. It is time that Pakistan acted according to its own needs instead of serving US interests. Most vocal opposition to this deal did not come from any top official of US or NATO but from some self-styled experts on Pakistan's issues. This is the same media and these are the same “experts” who had been terming the Afghan Taliban and TTP as the same organization working under two different names in two countries. The western media which launched these psy-ops is also spitting venom the Swat peace deal but has failed to utter a word against a similar US deal in the offing for Afghanistan. There is an irony in the way US perceives things. It is confusing for many to understand why the US is pursuing a policy of double standards in the region where one thing is legitimate for Afghanistan while the same is prohibited for Pakistan. At one place, the US is ready to work out ways to reduce civilian causalities and on the other, it is pushing Pakistan to carry on military operations in NWFP and FATA despite the fact that many more local people are being killed than Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. US duplicity doesn't end here. The US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates has welcomed possibility of a similar deal in Afghanistan, “If there is a reconciliation, if insurgents are willing to put down their arms, if the reconciliation is essentially on the terms being offered by the government, then I think we would be very open to that. We have said all along that ultimately some sort of political reconciliation has to be part of the long-term solution in Afghanistan.” There are misunderstandings among Pakistani commentators as well, sitting miles away from NWFP and especially from Swat. One can understand the motives of non-Pakistani commentators and Western media but Pakistani journalists and commentators must understand that presenting a horrific picture of the deal just because of the word “Islamic Sharia”, it is not only confusing local people in the region but also making the case for Pakistan more difficult in the international community where already many active players are out to destabilize Pakistan in order to serve their own objectives. 
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