Islamabad:
A peace deal between Taliban and authorities in Pakistan's restive Swat valley appeared headed for a collapse on Thursday as a frustrated cleric, who brokered the ceasefire accord, said he will quit the region to protest the government's failure to impose strict Islamic law or sharia.
Sufi Muhammad, the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah who is the Taliban's chief in Swat, said that he was leaving the picturesque region in "protest" and claimed that there cannot be peace in Swat without enforcement of the strict Sharia law.
"I am ending my peace camp in Swat. From now on President (Asif Ali) Zardari will be responsible for any situation in Swat," Muhammad, founder of Tehrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) which facilitated the peace deal between the Taliban and government, told reporters in Swat.
Zardari has said that he will not allow enforcement of the Islamic law in Swat till peace is restored completely.
With the deal, the area would come under sharia law, which -- under the Taliban's strict interpretation - would prevent women from even being seen in public without their husbands or fathers.
Imposition of Islamic law is one of the main demands of the Taliban, who reached the peace deal with the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government in February, ending 18 months of violence in the region that left hundreds of people dead.