Hung out to dry

Published March 5, 2014
President of the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Ahmed Khan walks out of his closed down factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
President of the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Ahmed Khan walks out of his closed down factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
Pakistani factory owner and President of the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Ahmed Khan looks at scrapped machinery at his closed down factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
Pakistani factory owner and President of the Swat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Ahmed Khan looks at scrapped machinery at his closed down factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
A Pakistani labourer works at a silk factory in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
Textile worker, Shaukat Ali works on a metal lathe machine at his workshop in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.
Textile worker, Shaukat Ali works on a metal lathe machine at his workshop in Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley.

Five years after the Taliban left, the once-thriving silk industry in the Swat valley of northwest Pakistan faces disaster, leaving thousands without work and entrepreneurs counting the cost.

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