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Pakistan holds pro-Taliban cleric | Pakistan holds pro-Taliban cleric |
(31 minutes later) | |
A radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in Pakistan's Swat valley has been arrested, officials say. | A radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in Pakistan's Swat valley has been arrested, officials say. |
Sufi Mohammed was arrested in Peshawar, in the restive north-west of Pakistan, government officials said. | Sufi Mohammed was arrested in Peshawar, in the restive north-west of Pakistan, government officials said. |
Regional information minister Iftikhar Hussein said he had been arrested on unspecified charges but had been warned against holding meetings in Peshawar. | Regional information minister Iftikhar Hussein said he had been arrested on unspecified charges but had been warned against holding meetings in Peshawar. |
The cleric negotiated a peace deal in February, widely seen as allowing the Taliban to take control of the valley. | The cleric negotiated a peace deal in February, widely seen as allowing the Taliban to take control of the valley. |
Militants were allowed to impose Sharia law in the district in exchange for an end to two years of fighting. | |
However the deal later collapsed when Taliban fighters moved into neighbouring districts. | |
"Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists," Mr Hussein told a news conference on Sunday. | |
He said that the influential cleric's stance "encouraged terrorism. It encouraged violence". | |
Banned group | |
The government's military operation to remove insurgents from the region displaced some two million people in Pakistan's north-west. | |
Sufi Mohammed is the founder of a banned militant group, Tehrik Nizam Shariat Mohammadi (TNSM). | |
He is also the father-in-law of the Taliban leader in the Swat valley. | |
In June, two of Sufi Mohammed's aides - who were under arrest - were killed when militants attacked a convoy transporting prisoners to Peshawar, military officials said. |