Pakistan: Taliban orders lawyers to renounce the courtroom and its "infidel judicial system"

And the terrified lawyers agree with great alacrity. The Taliban's clear hegemony in the Swat Valley -- what was once known as Pakistan's "Switzerland" -- is demonstrative of the fact that, either the Pakistani government is turning a blind eye to the situation (for whatever reason), or it is simply impotent. Either way, this is why the U.S. military should continue taking the initiative vis-a-vis terrorist strongholds in Pakistan -- regardless of the Pakistani government's threats and complaints.

ISLAMABAD: Having cracked the whip to bar girls from schooling, serving summons to politicians and lawmakers, Taliban now in control of Pakistan's restive northwestern region of Swat valley have issued an ultimatum to the lawyers.

In a new dictum, Taliban have told lawyers in what was once Pakistan's Switzerland, to stay away from the courts or face the gun.

Branding the present Pakistani jurisprudence as "infidel judicial system", the Taliban have told the lawyers to stay away from the courts or they will be killed, according to local officials.

Vowing to enforce their version of Islamic Shariah law, the Taliban's diktat caused such a panic among the lawyers in the region that they are making contacts with militant commanders saying they were ready to implement their instructions.

The threat was announced over Taliban's clandestinely-run FM radio channel.

Why clandestine? From the sound of things, the Swat Valley seems to be firmly in the Taliban's hands.