The chief minister linked the enforcement of the system with restoration of peace and resumption of proper functioning of state institutions in Swat.
The provincial government declared that all laws which were against sharia would be considered redundant in the region.
“Following successful negotiations between Maulana Sufi Mohammad and a team of the provincial government, it has been decided that from now onwards all laws related to the judicial system in Malakand division, including Kohistan, in conflict with sharia shall be considered redundant and defunct,” said a joint declaration signed by the government and Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM).
The declaration was issued at a press conference held by the chief minister after a jirga attended by lawmakers from Malakand, leaders of major parties and a delegation of the TNSM headed by its deputy chief Maulana Mohammad Alam.
Mr Hoti said all the people concerned, including the president, the prime minister and lawmakers of the region, had accepted the decisions.
He said that after signing the declaration, TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad and his companions would take a jirga to Swat and, hopefully, persuade the militants to lay down weapons.
“The law-enforcement personnel in Swat will not play a proactive role. They will remain in a reactive mode. They will stay there but retaliate if someone attacks them,” said the chief minister.
The declaration was signed by NWFP Ministers Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Haji Hidayatullah, Syed Zahir Shah and Humayun Khan; home and law secretaries Fayaaz Toru and Farooq Sarwar; and TNSM naib amir Maulana Mohammad Alam, spokesman Amir Izzat Khan and shura member Badshah Sarwar Khan.
Mr Hoti said the recommendations had been sent to the president to fulfil legal requirements and some more proposals would be sent after which the proposed Nizam-i-Adl Regulation 2009 would be enforced.
The declaration said: “The four sources of the judicial system, whose explanation has already been given in Islamic jurisprudence, are Holy Quran, Sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas and no decision against it would be acceptable. For appeals, a Darul Qaza, meaning sharia court bench, will be established whose decision will be final.”
It added that in consultation with Maulana Sufi Mohammad on all aspects of the sharia judicial system, it would be enforced in Malakand division and Kohistan district of Hazara division, after restoration of peace.
The government requested Sufi Mohammad, who was released from prison after an agreement in April last year, to end his protest and help restore peace in the region.
“A task force will oversee the implementation of these decisions,” Mr Hoti said, adding that the federal interior secretary and provincial chief secretaries would be the focal persons with the provincial chiefs of the Awami National Party and Pakistan People’s Party and the home and law secretaries as its members. One nominee of each of the two parties will be included in the task force.
The chief minister rejected a perception that a parallel judicial system or unconstitutional set-up was being introduced, and said that the Constitution stated that all laws should be in accordance with sharia.
He said the president and prime minister had approved a compensation package for the violence-hit areas and funds had been transferred to the provincial government. Heirs of every person killed will get Rs300,000 and each injured person will get Rs100,000.
Mr Hoti said restoration of peace and writ of the government were vital for implementation of the decisions and for institutions, including police, to become operational.
“There is now no motive left for the people who had taken up arms for the enforcement of Islamic judicial system. I request them to lay down arms and help the government in restoring durable peace and reconstructing the affected areas,” he said.
When asked if the decision had been taken under pressure, he said it was in accordance with the aspirations of the people of those areas.
“Earlier, a regulation was introduced in 1994 and another Nizam-i-Adl Regulation was promulgated in 1999, but a legal vacuum still persisted there which created unrest among the people,” Mr Hoti said.
He requested the international community to come forward and help in reconstruction of schools and infrastructure destroyed during the conflict.
Our Correspondent in Timergara adds: The TNSM shura decided at a meeting held at the Timergara rest-house in the evening that 500 volunteers of the group would leave for Swat on Tuesday and stay there till peace was restored.
A protest camp set up by the group on Oct 9 last year will be wound up.
The tehrik’s leaders will contact the Taliban leadership and appeal to the militants to disarm themselves and try to end fighting in the valley.
Talking to Dawn, the TNSM chief said his group would make determined efforts for peace in Swat with the spirit that it had demonstrated during its protest in Timergara for enforcement of sharia.