The new sultans of Swat

One has to wonder what the long-term effects for innocent immigrants will be in the Faustian bargain the Pakistani government struck a deal with the pro-Taliban Movement for the Implementation of Islamic Law. The cease-fire agreement allows for the application of Shari'a law in the Swat Valley. There is some question about what kind of shari'a law they mean to implement. If present results are any indication, the kind they intend to implement has grim consequences for the future. It seems that Taliban partisans in the Swat Valley of Pakistan are threatening those families with American relatives putting them in a rather nasty bind. Their ideology can be seen in the murder by beheading of Aasiya Hassan who was divorcing her Islamic television station founder husband Muzzammil Hassan (a station ostensibly to counter Islamic stereotypes -- insert tasteless observation here). This policy of appeasement may not even bring lasting stability to the nation of Pakistan. And the rollback of Pakistani troops from the valley may only make matters worse.