The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation (English: Order of Justice) was a controversial act, passed on April 13, 2009 by Government of Pakistan that formally established Sharia law in the Malakand division.
[4] Reports suggested that hard-line cleric Maulana Fazlullah and his Taliban-aligned Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) had established control of 59 villages in the region and as much as 70 percent of the Swat.
"[15] The tentative ceasefire was threatened in early April 2009 when Sufi Muhammad, stating that the government was stalling the implementation of sharia courts in the Swat valley, ended support for peace negotiations.
[16] Facing increased political pressure to reach a settlement, President Zardari signed the regulation into law on April 13, 2009 after a National Assembly resolution approved of the measure.
Although the Constitution of Pakistan allowed the president to enact laws for the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas without the approval of Parliament, Zardari used the non-binding resolution for moral support.
[17] Proponents of the measure believed that the current military strategy was failing to prevent further bloodshed and that passage of the regulation would allow for a peaceful resolution to the violence plaguing the Swat valley.
[9][19] In May 2009 on the American television program The Daily Show, Pakistani Ambassador Husain Haqqani provided another reason for the peace deal to host Jon Stewart: Opponents characterized the regulation's enactment as capitulation to the militants' demands.
"[18] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that "the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," and that the situation in Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world.
[29] On April 27, 2009 Sufi Mohammad announced that he was pulling out of peace negotiations due to the military operation, which the Army referred to as a "retaliatory strike," in Lower Dir.
[31] Although TTP spokesman Muslim Khan referred to the agreement as "worthless," Sufi's spokesperson, Amir Izzat, told media that negotiations would resume once the actions in Lower Dir came to an end.