Islamic courts started to function in northwestern Pakistan’s restive Swat valley on Thursday. Qazis, or judges, started presiding over courts in four places in Swat valley to pacify the armed Taliban fighters, who fought fierce battle against the security forces over the past 18 months, the News Network International (NNI) news agency reported. The Islamic courts were set up under an agreement signed last month by a cleric and the provincial government of North West Frontier Province, a senior official said. Sufi Muhammad, the founding chief of the banned outfit Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM), struck a deal with NWFP to set up Islamic courts and enforce Shariat. The areas where Islamic courts functioned included Matta, Khwazakhela, Kabal and Barikot, according to the NNI.
