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Swat Taliban summon politicians to sharia court

* Fazlullah says 43 ‘wanted’ people, including ministers and MPs, will be killed or arrested
* Announces amnesty for those who have stopped opposing Taliban

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: Swat Taliban have released a list of 43 people – including former and incumbent ministers – who they have declared ‘wanted’ and liable to punishment under the Taliban sharia.

The ‘wanted’ men also include former and current members of the national and provincial assemblies, district and local nazims, officials of political parties, local elders and other influential residents of the restive valley.

The announcement that the leaders were liable to punishment and must appear in Taliban courts was made by rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah on his FM radio channel on Sunday morning, locals said.

The 43 people on the list were the Taliban’s enemies, he said, and would be arrested or killed by his men. If arrested, they would be produced before the Taliban courts, which will punish them in line with the ‘sharia’, Fazlullah was heard saying on the radio channel.

The rebel cleric announced ‘amnesty’ for some political leaders and influential people who had stopped opposing Taliban in Swat, said locals who heard the speech. Fazlullah said they would not be harmed if they do not oppose the Taliban in future.

The brazen announcement comes only two days after a provincial minister from the Awami National Party (ANP) and two members of the NWFP Assembly visited the valley to express support for the people of Swat against the Taliban.

The ANP leaders in Peshawar are also speaking, in public and in private, of a changed strategy in Swat.

Three days ago, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar and Senior Minister Bashir Bilour had made separate claims the people of Swat would hear ‘good news’ in 15 days. The leaders did not elaborate.

The warning by Fazlullah coincides with ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan’s statement on Sunday that the Taliban must lay down arms if they want to solve the problem in Swat through dialogue. He made the statement in his address at a ceremony to commemorate the death anniversaries of Bacha Khan and Abdul Wali Khan in Peshawar.

According to BBC Urdu, Fazlullah also said Swat residents other than those on the list would not be harmed, and that the people who had fled the area could return to their homes.

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