Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009
Encyclopedia
The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (Order of Justice) was a controversial act, passed on April 13, 2009, of Pakistan
's central government
that formally established Sharia
law in the Malakand
division.
and the resurgence of the Taliban
, regions surrounding the Afghan-Pakistani border suffered great destabilization. After the siege of Lal Masjid
in 2007, Pakistani troops and Islamic militants vied for control
of the Swat Valley. Reports suggested that hard-line cleric Maulana Fazlullah
and his Taliban-aligned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
(TNSM) had established control of 59 villages in the region and as much as 70 percent of the Swat.
In an effort to end the violence the Awami National Party
-led provincial government of the North-West Frontier Province
negotiated the release in 2008 of Sufi Muhammad
, the founder of TNSM and father-in-law of Fazlullah, once he had renounced violence and agreed to work towards a political solution.
Muhammad took part in negotiations that led to the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The provincial government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad traveled to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers, who agreed to observe the ceasefire. On February 24, 2009 Muslim Khan
, spokeperson of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) publicly announced that his group would observe an indefinite ceasefire. The ANP sent the bill to President Asif Ali Zardari
, who delayed signing it into law until "the writ of the government [had] been established."
The tentative ceasefire was threatened in early April 2009 when Sufi Muhammad, stating that the government was stalling the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley, ended support for peace negotiations. President Zardari refused to sign any agreement until peace had been restored in the valley but failed to elaborate on how those conditions would be achieved.
resolution approved of the measure. Although the Constitution of Pakistan
allowed the president to enact laws for the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
without the approval of Parliament, Zardari used the non-binding resolution
for moral support
. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated, "We want consensus of the whole nation. We want to take the house into confidence. We don't want to bypass the parliament." The resolution was supported by Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party
, the Awami National Party
, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and generally pro-government Fata
officials. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement
(MQM) opposed the motion but abstained from the vote.
(district) court and the Darul Darul qaza, which acts as a supreme court. Contrary to Taliban demands, the courts refer to the Sharia interpretation of the sects involved in the dispute rather than that of the militant group.
Local Swati
s expressed approval of the act citing much improved decision times and impartiality before the qazi.
On 3 May 2009, the TNSM and the TTP decried the government-appointed qazis and the fact that the government unilaterally selected the judges without consulting Sufi Mohammad.
In May 2009 on the American television program The Daily Show
, Pakistani Ambassador
Husain Haqqani
provided another reason for the peace deal to host Jon Stewart
:
of the MQM told the AP
, "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint." Critics also maintained that the agreement would lead to "Talibanisation" of the region. In an interview with USA Today
, Nawaz Sharif
of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) expressed concerns that militants would attempt to export their system of Sharia to other regions of Pakistan. "They are now threatening to get out of Swat and take other areas into their custody. So we've got to avoid that situation."
Gilani downplayed outside concerns of the regulation. "This is our country. We know the ground realities better... We know much better what kind of strategy should be evolved," he said in a television interview on April 20, 2009. He also stressed that the deal was contingent upon peace and stability returning to the region.
expressed concerns that the regulation would strengthen militants along its shared border with Pakistan. A spokesperson for the Afghan President
said, "Since any deal with terrorist groups can have effects on the security of our own country and people, we ask the country of Pakistan to take into consideration the issue of security and its side-effects on relations between the two countries."
after the peace deal was finalized. Muslim Khan of the TTP declared that the group would not lay down its arms until full implementation of Sharia in the region had been achieved. After militants began to withdraw from Buner, violence erupted in the Lower Dir district that threatened to further unravel the peace accord. On April 27, 2009 Sufi Mohammad announced that he was pulling out of peace negotiations due to the military operation, which the Army referred to as a "retaliatory strike," in Lower Dir. According to the military, the strike was a response to the killings of a police officer and a local administrator and to Taliban expansion outside of Swat. Although TTP spokesman Muslim Khan referred to the agreement as "worthless," Mohammad's spokesperson, Amir Izzat, told media that negotiations would resume once the actions in Lower Dir came to an end.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's central government
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
that formally established Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law in the Malakand
Malakand Division
Malakand Division was an administrative division of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government....
division.
Background
In the wake of the U.S. invasion of neighboring AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the resurgence of the Taliban
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
, regions surrounding the Afghan-Pakistani border suffered great destabilization. After the siege of Lal Masjid
Siege of Lal Masjid
The siege of Lal Masjid was a confrontation in July 2007 between Islamic fundamentalist militants and the Government of Pakistan led by General Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz Administration, then Prime minister of Pakistan...
in 2007, Pakistani troops and Islamic militants vied for control
Battle of Swat
The Battle of Swat may refer to:*The First Battle of Swat between Pakistan and Taliban and Tribal Militants, 2007*The Second Battle of Swat between Pakistan and Taliban and Tribal Militants, 2009...
of the Swat Valley. Reports suggested that hard-line cleric Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country...
and his Taliban-aligned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
(TNSM) had established control of 59 villages in the region and as much as 70 percent of the Swat.
In an effort to end the violence the Awami National Party
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...
-led provincial government of the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
negotiated the release in 2008 of Sufi Muhammad
Sufi Muhammad
Sufi Muhammad bin Alhazrat Hassan, born in Dir, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi and Deobandi learnings vying for implementation of Sharia in Pakistan. It operates mainly in the Dir, Swat, and Malakand districts of...
, the founder of TNSM and father-in-law of Fazlullah, once he had renounced violence and agreed to work towards a political solution.
Muhammad took part in negotiations that led to the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The provincial government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad traveled to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers, who agreed to observe the ceasefire. On February 24, 2009 Muslim Khan
Muslim Khan
Muslim Khan was a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan of Swat. He was born in Kabal Tehsil of Swat.In an interview with New England Foundation for the Arts, when asked about his usage of American-styled English and pronunciation, he revealed that he had lived for some time in Boston...
, spokeperson of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP...
(TTP) publicly announced that his group would observe an indefinite ceasefire. The ANP sent the bill to President Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
, who delayed signing it into law until "the writ of the government [had] been established."
The tentative ceasefire was threatened in early April 2009 when Sufi Muhammad, stating that the government was stalling the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley, ended support for peace negotiations. President Zardari refused to sign any agreement until peace had been restored in the valley but failed to elaborate on how those conditions would be achieved.
Enactment
Facing increased political pressure to reach a settlement, President Zardari signed the regulation into law on April 13, 2009 after a National AssemblyNational Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
resolution approved of the measure. Although the Constitution of Pakistan
Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
allowed the president to enact laws for the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
The Provincially Administered Tribal Areas are Pakistani administrative subdivisions designated in the Article 246 of the Constitution of Pakistan...
without the approval of Parliament, Zardari used the non-binding resolution
Non-binding resolution
A non-binding resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body that cannot progress into a law. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion....
for moral support
Moral support
Moral support is a way of giving support to a person or cause, or to one side in a conflict, without making any contribution beyond the emotional or psychological value of the encouragement....
. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stated, "We want consensus of the whole nation. We want to take the house into confidence. We don't want to bypass the parliament." The resolution was supported by Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
, the Awami National Party
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party is an Pashtun nationalist, socialist, centre-left political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International...
, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and generally pro-government Fata
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
officials. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Muttahida Qaumi Movement generally known as MQM, is a liberal-secular political party of Pakistan. It is generally known as a party which holds immense mobilizing potential in province of Sindh...
(MQM) opposed the motion but abstained from the vote.
Implementation
After becoming law, the Nizam-e-Adl was retroactively effective starting on March 15, 2009. The system has three tiers: ilaqa (local area) court, the zilaZillah (country subdivision)
A Zillah or Zilā is a country subdivision in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. It is translated as district* districts of Pakistan * districts of India...
(district) court and the Darul Darul qaza, which acts as a supreme court. Contrary to Taliban demands, the courts refer to the Sharia interpretation of the sects involved in the dispute rather than that of the militant group.
Local Swati
Swati (tribe)
The Swatis are a Pashtun tribe based around the Swat valley, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They are the largest tribal group of land owners in the Mansehra and Battagram districts....
s expressed approval of the act citing much improved decision times and impartiality before the qazi.
On 3 May 2009, the TNSM and the TTP decried the government-appointed qazis and the fact that the government unilaterally selected the judges without consulting Sufi Mohammad.
Support for the regulation
Proponents of the measure believed that the current military strategy was failing to prevent further bloodshed and that passage of the regulation would allow for a peaceful resolution to the violence plaguing the Swat valley. They stated that the move towards sharia reflected the will of the people and that historical precedents existed for that type of governance in the region. Proponents portrayed this regulation as a modification of past agreements: the Nifaz-i-Nizam-i-Sharia Regulation of 1994 and the Sharia Nizam-i-Adl Regulation of 1999.In May 2009 on the American television program The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, Pakistani Ambassador
Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
The embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. was built in 28 August 1947, when Pakistan attained independence from Great Britain and separated from India to form the Dominion of Pakistan. From the onset, Pakistan adopted a pro-American policy with relations taking an upturn in 1954 when Pakistan...
Husain Haqqani
Husain Haqqani
Husain Haqqani or Hussain Haqqani is the former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, appointed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in April 2008 and was resigned on November 22, 2011...
provided another reason for the peace deal to host Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
:
- "President Zardari did something very smart. When he was with President ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
recently, he explained it. He actually told the American government that I’m going to do this deal to try and prove to those within Pakistan, and in Pakistan’s state apparatus, who think that these guys can be negotiated with — I will negotiate with them only to prove that you can’t negotiate with them, because they will break the deal. And as soon as they broke the deal, the army is back in, the fighting is going on, and you can see the results."
Opposition to the regulation
Opponents characterized the regulation's enactment as capitulation to the militants' demands. Farooq SattarFarooq Sattar
Farooq Sattar Pirwani is a politician from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Farooq Sattar is Deputy Convener and Parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement , a political party in Pakistan. He has also served as Provincial Minister in the Sindh Cabinet for Local Bodies and is one of the senior...
of the MQM told the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "We can't accept Islamic law at gunpoint." Critics also maintained that the agreement would lead to "Talibanisation" of the region. In an interview with USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) expressed concerns that militants would attempt to export their system of Sharia to other regions of Pakistan. "They are now threatening to get out of Swat and take other areas into their custody. So we've got to avoid that situation."
International concerns
PMPrime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Gilani downplayed outside concerns of the regulation. "This is our country. We know the ground realities better... We know much better what kind of strategy should be evolved," he said in a television interview on April 20, 2009. He also stressed that the deal was contingent upon peace and stability returning to the region.
Afghanistan
AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
expressed concerns that the regulation would strengthen militants along its shared border with Pakistan. A spokesperson for the Afghan President
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
said, "Since any deal with terrorist groups can have effects on the security of our own country and people, we ask the country of Pakistan to take into consideration the issue of security and its side-effects on relations between the two countries."
United States
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that "the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," and that the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world." An article in the New York Times published April 23, 2009 quoted several military and government officials who expressed doubts about Pakistani efforts against the Taliban. Senator Jack Reed said, "It illustrates there is a lack of political will in the Pakistan civilian leadership to confront these Pakistan Taliban... The Taliban sense this huge vacuum that they can pour into." In the same article, a United States Defense Department official told the newspaper, "The government is too worried about its own political survival to take on the militants."Non-governmental organizations
- Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
expressed concern that the ceasefire agreement would legitimize human rights abuses in the region.
Outcomes
BBC News reported that Taliban in the Swat district began to expand into the neighboring district of BunerBuner District
Buner District is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.- History :The Buner Valley lies on the Peshawar valley border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a small mountain valley, dotted with villages and divided into seven sub-divisions...
after the peace deal was finalized. Muslim Khan of the TTP declared that the group would not lay down its arms until full implementation of Sharia in the region had been achieved. After militants began to withdraw from Buner, violence erupted in the Lower Dir district that threatened to further unravel the peace accord. On April 27, 2009 Sufi Mohammad announced that he was pulling out of peace negotiations due to the military operation, which the Army referred to as a "retaliatory strike," in Lower Dir. According to the military, the strike was a response to the killings of a police officer and a local administrator and to Taliban expansion outside of Swat. Although TTP spokesman Muslim Khan referred to the agreement as "worthless," Mohammad's spokesperson, Amir Izzat, told media that negotiations would resume once the actions in Lower Dir came to an end.
External links
- Text of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 published by the Associated Press of PakistanAssociated Press of PakistanAssociated Press of Pakistan is a government-operated national news agency of Pakistan. It is not associated with the Associated Press agency .-Lack of financial resources:...
on April 14, 2009 - Text of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 published by the Daily Times on April 15, 2009