The tragedy of Swat

DAWN (Editorial)
10/ 09/ 2007

ONCE the hotspot of Pakistan's tourism, Swat is fast emerging as a stronghold of the Talibanisation that has swept most of the southern districts of the NWFP and some northern districts as well. The war in Waziristan has been the focus of national attention, and rightly so given the implications of the rise of militancy in the tribal areas for the territorial integrity of the country. But the happenings in Swat also have profound relevance for Pakistan's society. Here the issue is not one of a military confrontation with the army. It is the Islamists' self-acquired right to impose — even by using force — their own brand of morality on the civilian population. Since the beginning of July, there have been 53 incidents of bomb explosions, including three suicide bombings, claiming a total of 48 lives. That is not all. There has been an assassination attempt on an ANP leader and officials in the administration and their families have come under attack and many of them have now reportedly shifted to Islamabad.

A lot of the violence is directed against women, girls' schools, NGOs and CD shops. With their misguided beliefs of restricting women and banning all entertainment, the militants are now on the war path. How this is affecting the lives of common people is shocking. Media reports suggest that worried parents have pulled out their children from schools in large numbers. Health care is being affected with Maulana Fazlullah conducting an anti-polio campaign on his illegally operated FM radio. The state's writ appears to be weakening in this area. Police have withdrawn from checkpoints in some of the worst-affected tehsils of Swat, which are now being policed by militants. Fazlullah sent hundreds of his armed comrades to rescue two abducted women from the upscale Kanju Town in Swat and 'bring to justice' their alleged abductors who were paraded before a multitude of people as they await their fate to be decided by a self-appointed 'Islamic court'.

Unfortunately, all this is happening, not in any remote corner of the tribal badlands of Pakistan but in a settled district of the NWFP. There seems to be total paralysis and inaction with the state security apparatus going through one of its worst patches and the administrative system in a state of collapse. The problem has been further compounded by a lack of an actionable strategy. The government has left it to the local police to handle the law and order situation while the troops that were sent in have not checked the militants who are also operating in other areas using Swat as their base. The intelligence agencies apparently have sufficient information on the militants' operations but have failed to take action because the government is still not clear about its strategy. Already a section of the population shocked by the assassination attempt on Afzal Khan Lala has begun to react by rejecting the police ban on the carrying of weapons since its faith in the government's ability to provide security has already been eroded. Is Swat heading for a civil war?