This is Pakistan, not Iraq or Afghanistan. There is complete anarchy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is not the case here

Officials in Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), who last week signed a controversial peace deal with Taliban militants in the Swat Valley, announced plans to distribute rifles and create a new elite police force as part of a new strategy to confront terrorism.However, security experts warned that the local government's plan could spark a civil war.The announcement was seen as an attempt to allay US and British fears that the peace deal could create a new safe haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda militants, just as the American and Pakistani governments prepare a new offensive in the frontier and tribal areas.The peace deal in Swat has caused some alarm among Nato allies because it is only 100 miles from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.The decision to arm villagers is thought to have been inspired by US initiatives in Iraq, which played a key role in reducing violence.The NWFP, including its capital Peshawar, has seen a dramatic surge in Taliban attacks in the last year, including beheadings, shootings and bomb attacks on pro-government politicians and schools attended by girls. Pakistani Taliban groups are believed to control key areas just outside of Peshawar, in Khyber Agency, where raids have interrupted supply routes for Nato forces in Afghanistan.Haider Khan Hoti, the NWFP's chief minister, said that the new elite force and the decision to arm villagers with weapons seized from terrorists and other "anti-state" elements were part of a strategy to challenge Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the province. His government would fund the new force with $40 million (£27 million). "The purpose of setting up this force is to combat terrorism and extremism effectively," he said.
The US is expected to back the formation of a national elite police force to hold on to territory cleared of Taliban forces in Pakistan army offensives.But security experts warned that arming villagers could backfire. Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in Pakistan's tribal areas, said the initiative could lead to civil war in the region."This is Pakistan, not Iraq or Afghanistan. There is complete anarchy in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that is not the case here. It is not going to help," he said.