A fresh look at Swat

Published July 6, 2011
Pakistani shopkeeper Muhammad Karim arranging compact disks at his shop in Mingora. It has been more than two years since the Taliban roamed Pakistan's Swat valley with impunity and threatened to kill him, but Mohammad Karim is still scared when he remembers how they paralysed life.
Pakistani shopkeeper Muhammad Karim arranging compact disks at his shop in Mingora. It has been more than two years since the Taliban roamed Pakistan's Swat valley with impunity and threatened to kill him, but Mohammad Karim is still scared when he remembers how they paralysed life.
Pakistani soldiers ride on the flatbed of a pickup truck during a patrol in Mingora.
Pakistani soldiers ride on the flatbed of a pickup truck during a patrol in Mingora.
A Pakistani youth sells donuts in Mingora.
A Pakistani youth sells donuts in Mingora.
Pakistani Corps Commander, 11-Corps, Lt. Gen  Asif Yasin Malik (L) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar (R) attend the inauguration of the three-day 'Genesis and Causes of Radicalisation in Pakistan' seminar in Saidu Sharif town in Swat valley.
Pakistani Corps Commander, 11-Corps, Lt. Gen Asif Yasin Malik (L) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar (R) attend the inauguration of the three-day 'Genesis and Causes of Radicalisation in Pakistan' seminar in Saidu Sharif town in Swat valley.
Pakistani men who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation center of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil.
Pakistani men who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation center of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil.
Pakistani youths, who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation. centre of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley.
Pakistani youths, who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation. centre of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley.
Pakistani men who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation centre of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley.
Pakistani men who worked under Taliban attend a class at the army-run de-radicalisation centre of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley.
Bacha Wali (L), a Pakistani youth who worked under Taliban is attended by a psychiatrist at the army-run de-radicalisation center of Mishal School.
Bacha Wali (L), a Pakistani youth who worked under Taliban is attended by a psychiatrist at the army-run de-radicalisation center of Mishal School.

Taliban militants led by cleric Mullah Fazlullah took control of the scenic Swat valley in 2007 but the army retook Swat after launching a major offensive against the Taliban in 2009 which displaced an estimated two million people. Now the  army-run "de-radicalisation" center of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley,  started last year, seeks to help hundreds of children and teens endangered by the Taliban, who ruled Swat before the military drove out the insurgents in 2009. These young boys are used as “walking bombs” by the Taliban to target security forces, government employees and ideological opponents in the tribal areas and elsewhere in the country. -Photos by AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Mixed signals
Updated 28 Dec, 2024

Mixed signals

If Imran wants talks to yield results, he should authorise PTI’s committee to fully engage with the other side without setting deadlines.
Opaque trials
28 Dec, 2024

Opaque trials

AND so, it has come to pass. All 85 individuals tried by military courts for their involvement in the May 9 riots...
A friendly neighbour
28 Dec, 2024

A friendly neighbour

FORMER Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh who passed away on Thursday at 92 was a renowned economist who pulled ...
Desperate measures
Updated 27 Dec, 2024

Desperate measures

Sadly in Pakistan, street protests and sit-ins have become the only resort to catch the attention of a callous power elite.
Economic outlook
27 Dec, 2024

Economic outlook

THE post-pandemic years, marked by extreme volatility in the global oil and commodity markets as well as slowing...
Cricket and visas
27 Dec, 2024

Cricket and visas

PAKISTAN has asserted that delay in the announcement of the schedule of next year’s Champions Trophy will not...