Swat deal may harm Afghanistan's security

Kabul, Apr 15 (ANI): Afghanistan has said its own security could be hurt by a deal between the Pakistan Government and the Taliban militants to impose Islamic law in the Sawt Valley.President Asif Ali Zardari signed a regulation on Monday imposing sharia on Swat, a picturesque valley in northwest Pakistan, as part of a deal to end violence from the Taliban guerrillas.

Afghanistan, fighting its own insurgency against the Taliban, has long been worried that success by the Taliban in Pakistan could embolden the militants on both sides of the border.

"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," said Afghan presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada.

The strict Taliban, with roots in ethnic Pashtun tribes that straddle the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, have been waging insurgencies in both countries, the Dawn reported.

Afghanistan has in the past accused Pakistani security forces of tacitly supporting militants who infiltrate across the border into Afghanistan, an accusation that has soured ties between the two key allies of Washington. (ANI)