Sufi Muhammad, born in Dir, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi and Deobandi leanings (declared a terrorist outfit and banned in 2002) vying for implementation of Sharia in Swat and Malakand Division. It operates mainly in the Dir, Swat, and Malakand districts of North-West Frontier Province. He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, who assumed the leadership of TNSM during Muhammad's imprisonment.
During the 1980s Sufi Muhammad actively participated in Jamaat-e-Islami. In 1992 he split from the group to form TNSM.
Sufi Muhammad remained in prison until 2008 when he agreed in talks with the chief minister of the NWFP to use his influence to work towards peace in the region.
Maulana Sufi Muhammad took part in negotiations with the government that led to the announcement of a temporary ceasefire in the Malakand region on February 16, 2009. The Pakistani government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad agreed to travel to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers. He told reporters, "We will soon open dialogue with the Taliban. We will ask them to lay down their weapons. We are hopeful that they will not let us down. We will stay here in the [Swat] valley until peace is restored."
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