27 Jul 2009

Cleric detained on unspecified charges

3:29 pm on 27 July 2009

A radical cleric who brokered a failed peace deal in Pakistan's Swat Valley has been arrested.

The BBC reports that Sufi Mohammed was detained in Peshawar on unspecified charges. He had been warned against holding meetings there.

A deal negotiated by the cleric earlier this year allowed the Taliban to take control of the Swat Valley and impose Sharia law there.

Sufi Mohammad is the founder of a banned group and is also the father-in-law of the Taliban leader in the Swat valley, Maulana Fazlullah.