Lahore, Apr. 4: Religious scholars and clerics across Pakistan have condemned the public whipping of a
17-year-old girl by the Taliban in Swat.

The Taliban had alleged that the girl had illicit relations with her father in law, as she had gone out in his presence, instead of her husband.

Girl’s father-in-law was a na-mehram (stranger) for her and she should not have left home with him, the Daily Times quoted them, as saying.

Peshawar, Pakistan - Pakistan's government stopped 16 months of fighting and brought relative calm to Swat, a scenic valley just an hour north of Islamabad, by cutting a truce with Taliban militants, a development it promotes as a model to deal with the Islamic insurgency in the entire region.

However, the price paid for peace may be too high and likely to discourage Western governments from making similar deals in Afghanistan.

Lahore, Mar. 23: Civil society and human rights activists have condemned the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has ordered all non-government organizations working in the Swat area to leave.

The TTP, which said NGOs were just another name for obscenity and vulgarity, had earlier banned district courts in Swat, leaving 500 lawyers unemployed in Swat.

The civil society and human rights activists slammed the Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi chief Sufi Muhammad, whose order they claimed proved that the TTP did not want the locals to prosper or be able to voice their needs.

Mingora (Pakistan), Mar. 17: Despite the Pakistan Government’s peace-deal with the Taliban in Swat, women are still afraid to go to markets and shop.

Even a month after the Sharia related deal, the busiest shopping joint in Mingora city, Cheena Market, still awaits female shoppers.

“Business has still not returned to normal despite a marked change in the situation. I used to make a good profit when the Taliban had not banned women from going to markets,” a shopkeeper, Ikramullah Khan told Daily Times.

Islamabad - Taliban militants in Pakistan's troubled Swat district have swapped a senior government administrator and his six guards for three of their comrades, media reports said on Monday.

Khushhal Khan, who was designated as the head of Swat's administration, was kidnapped Sunday along with his police escort by gunmen on the outskirts Mingora, the main town of the district, and held captive in Qamber area for several hours.

Khun was travelling to Mingora to assume his new position.