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Pakistan holds pro-Taliban cleric | Pakistan holds pro-Taliban cleric |
(about 1 hour 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 Mohammad was held in Peshawar in the north-west after being warned not to hold meetings there, officials said. | |
Provincial information minister Iftikhar Hussein told a news conference Sufi Mohammad had been detained for encouraging terrorism and violence. | |
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. | 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 failed to disarm and 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. | "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". | He said that the influential cleric's stance "encouraged terrorism. It encouraged violence". |
"He has been involved in activities which help militancy and militants and sabotage government efforts to combat them," Mr Hussein said. | |
Banned group | Banned group |
The government's military operation to remove insurgents from the region displaced some two million people in Pakistan's north-west. | The government's military operation to remove insurgents from the region displaced some two million people in Pakistan's north-west. |
Pakistan's military says it has killed more than 1,600 militants in the offensive. The claim cannot be independently verified. | |
Sufi Mohammad 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, Maulana Fazlullah. | |
In June, two of Sufi Mohammad's aides - who were under arrest - were killed when militants attacked a convoy transporting prisoners to Peshawar, military officials said. | |
Maulana Fazlullah's whereabouts are unknown. The government says he was seriously hurt in an air strike but the Taliban have denied this, saying he is "alive and healthy". |