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| India-Pakistan |
| Twists and turns of Swat imbroglio: 300 including 80 security personnel killed in violence |
| 2008-02-09 |
| Around 300 people, including 80 security personnel, have been killed in incidents of violence since trouble in the Swat valley began in February 2007 and the operation began on October 26. The situation in the scenic valley, once a tourist resort, is still far from normal. Estimates collected on local level suggest that over 0.6 million people were affected by the violence directly or indirectly. Many of them have migrated to other areas for fear of lives while others shifted as their houses were destroyed in crossfire. According to statistics compiled by a local journalist, 136 civilians have been killed in Swat and 40 in Shangla district. Security forces have detained around 800 people, 350 of who are being questioned outside Swat. The rest have been locked up in various police stations in the valley. Around 110 militants have surrendered to the security forces after facilitation by local elders. Trouble in the valley has also cost millions of rupees in losses to the hotel industry, transporters and businessmen, who depend on tourism. Continuing curfew brought social life in Mingora city and nearby areas to a standstill. The District Council has been closed since the fighting broke out government offices have not been able to work. Houses of Swat District Nazim Jamal Nasir Khan and former federal minister Amir Muqam were burnt. The latter narrowly escaped a suicide attack in Peshawar. A former member of the NWFP Assembly Pir Mohammad Khan was killed in the attack. Former federal minister and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Afzal Khan Lala was injured in a firing incident. Former provincial minister Asfandyar Amir Zeb and nazim Bakhtmand Khan were killed, along with their five colleagues in a landmine blast. Mullah Fazal Ahad, now known as Mullah Fazlullah, launched an FM radio some three years ago and gained public support by his fiery speeches against the government and in support of his own brand of Sharia or Islamic law. The firebrand cleric, also known as Mullah Radio, began to construct a religious seminary in his headquarters in Imam Dheri by collecting donations through his FM channel. As his influence in the area increased, he resorted to coercing people to follow his regulations in a bid to “Islamise” the Swat valley. Federal and provincial government authorities were alarmed when followers of the cleric forcibly stopped health teams from administering anti-polio drops to children in areas under his influence. Earlier, the fanatics had blown up and burnt several CD shops and music centres and warned the rest to close down their business dubbing them as devilish instruments. To control the situation, district police officer Yameen Khan called security forces in Swat. A truce in May 2007 briefly stopped violence but thousands of followers of Fazlullah announced a war against the government after the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad. The militants swiftly spread from Imam Dheri to Shangla and Swat and seized police stations and officers and beheaded policemen and FC personnel. This prompted the authorities to land regular troops in the area. The cleric and his followers had warned of suicide attacks, and carried out the first one in the Rahimabad area on July 12 . The attack killed four policemen including a station house officer. It was followed by two more suicide attacks – one near Seend Police Lines on an FC convoy that killed 21 FC troops, and the second in Matta tehsil that killed 12 army men, two policemen and seven civilians. Taliban threat looming: People of Mingora city and nearby towns are wary of a comeback by militants, who they believe have not been eliminated completely. People believe Taliban power and support bases are still intact and they have gone underground to evade arrests or being killed. No major militant leaders have been killed or arrested during the operation, they say. |
| Posted by:Fred |