لراوبر ویب پاڼه لراوبر يو افغان – تازه خبرونه
THE echo of what Faiz Ahmad Faiz said half a century ago is reverberating in Swat today:
Koi masiha na eefai ehd ko puhncha
Buhat talash pas-i-qatl-i-aam hoti rahi
(No messiah arrived to provide relief, but after the carnage much investigation took place).
The people of the Swat valley, once billed as the Switzerland of Asia, feel abandoned, helpless and betrayed today. Since July 2007 this scenic valley of orchards, snowcapped mountains, fast-flowing streams and thick forests has been in the grip of violence.
A second spree of violence began recently. It has reportedly left more than 100 people dead, including a number of security personnel, civilians and Taliban in the troubled areas of Kabal, Matta, Charbagh and Malam Jabba. The local people estimate more than 500 human casualties in the ongoing spree of death and destruction in the valley.
Besides the loss of human lives, an additional dozen or so girls schools, the remaining part of a PTDC motel in Malam Jabba and police checkposts have been torched and destroyed in upper Swat. Meanwhile, a notorious FM radio station continues to air hatred against the government and exhorts the people to revolt against the states security apparatus.The current wave seems to be the result of the failed peace deal signed between the NWFP government and Fazlullahs militia in May 2008. The deal was expected to fail and lead to this violent scenario for several reasons.
Firstly, it was signed without consultation with civil society, political parties and the professional classes of the area. Secondly, a huge gap was evident between the interpretation given by the Taliban and the government to some key clauses of the deal. Thirdly, the probability of the deal not taking off in the absence of monitoring systems remained high. With its failure, a new and ferocious current of death and destruction became inevitable and is being witnessed today in the valley. In other parts, the violence is of low intensity.
Fourthly, the militants in Swat previously never enjoyed the space the deal gave them. The chances were that the deal would create a snowball effect on militant organisations throughout the length and breadth of the valley leading to warlordism.
The present scope of insurgent activities is broad-based and all-encompassing with ever-increasing expansion further north and west of upper Swat. The militants and security forces have gun-battles in Qandeel (Madyan) despite the refusal of local residents to give sanctuary to the militants and the residents constant appeal to the security forces to desist from actions that would cause the scenic mountain resort to be engulfed in the flames of violence. The same seems to be happening in the Lower Dir district just beyond the hills of Peuchar though the local people have adamantly refused the militants sanctuary.
The present round of violence is more deadly and the Taliban and the military seem to be in a more aggressive mood than before. The number of civilian casualties, including men and women, and the destruction wrought are greater. Curfews and unabated firing from both sides have brought all activities to a standstill. According to the incharge at the Mata Tehsil Hospital, patients in the hospital are stranded as no attendant can reach them and bring food and medicines for them.
Charitable hospitals, such as the one set up by the Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust in Kabal tehsil, are virtually closed and the staff there is afraid that the hospitals might be shifted to other areas. Markets in the upper part of the valley are deserted and amenities are sold at prices that are 10 times higher than the actual rate because of the non-supply of edible items. Public and private properties are being destroyed with impunity. Several brides and grooms, who were en route to their villages in the upper part of the Swat valley, are stranded in different hotels in Mingora.
The common people believe that the present violence is being orchestrated for the procurement of more dollars from the US, despite the fact that there are casualties among the Taliban and the military everyday. Some local people also believe that the military would like the valley to be plunged into turmoil in order to provide sanctuaries and infiltrating points to the Taliban to enter Afghanistan through the border at Chitral.
The present mantra of the NWFP governor at the behest of the presidency and the adviser for interior affairs that Indias RAW agents are involved in the insurgency in Fata and other parts of the NWFP has actually given more credence to this perception. The ISI and the militarys panic over the order of the prime minister to bring the ISI under the administrative, operational and financial control of the interior ministry also played a crucial role in developing this perception of the people.
The provincial chapters of the JUI-F and PML-Q have been actively demanding the end of the operation in the Swat valley. A large section of the population in Swat believes these two parties have close ties to spy agencies in Pakistan. It was the MMA government in the NWFP which allowed Fazlullahs militia to grow from a small bunch of hardcore militants into a Frankenstein.
While the man in the street wants peace and the dismantling of organisations responsible for the turmoil, professionals, businessmen, students, teachers, political activists and media outlets in the valley appear to be sceptical about the motives of the military in breaking the organisational structures of the non-state religious militant bodies active in the valley.
The people of the valley think that the supply of manpower, weapons and other necessities to Fazlullahs militia could have easily been disrupted if the security forces had been keen about doing so or had been allowed to eliminate militancy in the valley. The federal and provincial governments have failed to launch a substantive dialogue while resorting to the selective use of force and offering a comprehensive economic development plan for the rehabilitation of the displaced population. They have also failed to effectively put into operation the village peace committees. All this has further eroded the confidence of the people in the state apparatus.
The writer is coordinator for the Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy.
khadim.2005@gmail.com
