TIMERGARA, Lower Dir: The founding chief of the Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, on Saturday said that if the government announced Shariah in the erstwhile Malakand division on his terms, he would bring a halt to the ongoing militancy in the restive Swat valley.

Giving an exclusive interview to The News here, Sufi Muhammad said he would declare Jihad against the Swat Taliban commanded by Maulana Fazlullah, also his son-in-law, if he refused to lay down arms even after the enforcement of Shariah.

“After the Shariah enforcement, I will go to Swat and tell the people that Shariah has been implemented and now there is no justification to fight against the government. I will ask the militants to give up militant activities, though they are not followers or supporters, and if they refused, I will announce Jihad against them. Then I will tell the security forces to go home and take rest and don’t worry about the Swat militancy because I will take up arms and will be responsible for tackling the militants,” Sufi vowed.

To a query as to whether he had the kind of power to fight the resourceful and powerful Taliban in Swat, he said the Swati militants had material power and he and his followers had divine help.

Rejecting the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (SNAR) being enforced by the Awami National Party-led NWFP government, he said the proposed law didn’t have even one per cent of Shariah.

“It doesn’t have one per cent Shariah, but has just been named Shariah,” was the answer of the aged cleric, who has staged a sit-in, along with hundreds of his followers, at the rest-house ground of Timergara for the enforcement of real Shariah. He said they were consulted before drafting the regulation but their recommendations were not incorporated.

To the question on what kind of Shariah he wanted, he said, “The government should announce through TV (channels), radio and newspapers and give a written document to us, that from today all un-Islamic laws (which are against Quran and Hadith) are declared null and void in the judicial system across the Malakand region, including district Kohistan of Hazara division.