Pakistan arrests pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Muhammad, two sons

Pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Muhammad, who brokered a now-defunct peace deal between the authorities and insurgents, was today arrested in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar for his links to militants and his role in fomenting unrest in the lawless Swat valley.

Sufi, who heads the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, was arrested with his sons Ziaullah and Rizwanullah and an accomplice by a large police contingent during a raid in the City Town area of Peshawar. The four men were taken away to an unknown location.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for North West Frontier Province, told a news conference that Sufi Muhammad was arrested for speaking against the government and encouraging violence and terrorism in Malakand division, which includes the Swat valley.

"We arrested him today under the Maintenance of Public Order (law) for the sake of maintaining peace and security," Hussain said.

Sufi's role in militant activities in Malakand will be investigated and cases will be filed against him after the probe is completed, he added.

The influential cleric brokered a controversial deal with the NWFP government in February to restore peace in Swat and other parts of Malakand. However, the agreement collapsed in May when Taliban from Swat took advantage of the pact to extend their influence to the nearby Buner and Dir districts.

The hardline cleric mediated between Taliban fighters led by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah and the NWFP government and finalised the peace deal whereby authorities agreed to set up Islamic courts in exchange for the militants laying down their arms.

However, Hussain said Sufi Muhammad never cooperated with the government to restore law and order.

He went underground to avoid dialogue on several crucial occasions and even declared that democracy and the judiciary were "un-Islamic", Hussain said.

The federal government scrapped the peace agreement in May and launched a major military offensive in Swat and nearby areas.

Over 1,700 militants and nearly 170 soldiers have so far died in the fighting. One of Sufi Muhammad's sons was recently killed in a military operation in Dir.

Earlier in the day, media reports here said Sufi, who disappeared after a military operation in Swat, has resurfaced in Peshawar in a new look to hide his identity.

A private television channel caught him during his outfit's meeting yesterday. "Sufi left the meeting after he spotted the camera," the channel had reported.

A TNSM supporter told the Daily Times that Sufi had "trimmed and dyed his beard red to keep his identity secret" and had been residing in a rented house in Peshawar.