Resurgence of Taliban in Swat: A blow to Pakistan’s battle against militancy

The militants are back in Swat valley more than a decade after they were driven out from the region by the Pakistan military. Heavily armed men are patrolling the highways and have set check posts reminiscent of the bad old days of Taliban control in 2008. Over the past weeks there have been several incidents of militant attacks plunging the valley-- which is also one of the most popular tourist spots in the country-- into panic. 

Last week, a provincial legislator of the ruling party was seriously injured and three others were killed in adjoining Dir district when the vehicle in which he was traveling came under attack by suspected militants. A few days later a video emerged on social media showing a man claiming to be a member of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) interrogating an army major whose hands had evidently been tied behind his back. The militants had taken him and two others — a police officer and a soldier — hostage. The captives were later released after negotiations. 

The resurgence of the dreaded militant network in Swat does not seem to be an isolated phenomenon. The TTP is now active in the former tribal areas particularly in Waziristan. Curiously, their activities seem to have increased after Pakistani security agencies entered into peace negotiations with the militant outfit operating from their sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan. 

There seems to be some plausibility to the widespread suspicion that the militants have returned to Swat as a result of a deal. Most of them had fled to Afghanistan after the military operation in 2009. They have been joined by local radical groups. Earlier this year, the government had freed Muslim Khan and another top TTP commander who were the main leaders of the Swat insurgency. 

They were responsible for the killing of hundreds of civilians and government officials and were held under anti-terrorism laws. Their release though not made public, gives credence to the reports of the state taking a softer stance to some of the militant factions considered reconcilable. The administration has played down the recent incidents of violence in the region saying that the situation is under control. 

The reassertion of the militants in Swat has triggered angry reactions from the local population. Thousands of people turned out in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to protest against the resurgence of militancy. 

Zahid Hussain

But the reassertion of the militants has triggered angry reactions from the local population. Thousands of people turned out in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to protest against the resurgence of militancy. The people have not forgotten the days when the rampaging Taliban had established a reign of terror in the area. 

Led by Maulana Fazlullah, a fiery cleric also known as Mullah Radio for his sermons on FM radio, the militants used public executions and beheadings of government officials, soldiers, and alleged spies to terrorize the population into submission. The long-haired cleric started out as a preacher, but gained huge popularity among the local population with his powerful speeches, broadcast from his illegal radio station. He had declared war against the Pakistani state.

Taliban control in one of the most progressive and culturally rich, former princely states, had back then come as a serious blow to Pakistan’s battle against militancy. More people were killed in Swat by militants than in any other part of the country. The insurgents had established their own courts to dispense ‘Islamic justice,’ as the government’s control had faltered. 

All educational institutions in the region have been shut down after the Taliban banned girls’ education declaring it to be un-Islamic. The Taliban also tried to assassinate Malala Yusufzai for her activism in Swat valley.

The Taliban offensive just 200 km from Islamabad raised international concerns over Pakistan’s stability that forced Pakistani security forces to act. The government sent thousands of troops at the end of 2008 to quell that militancy. Security were able to clear the area after an intense battle that left hundreds of people dead. Mullah Fazlullah and other senior militant commanders fled to Afghanistan’s Kunar province. Some year later he was killed in a drone strike, but his men continued to carry out cross-border attacks. 

The resurgence of the Taliban in the area raises serious questions about Pakistan’s anti- terrorism policy. The so-called peace negotiations that started a few months ago under the insistence of the Afghan Taliban regime seem to have gone nowhere. Despite a cease-fire, there has been a marked increase in terrorist attacks. The peace earned after the loss of hundreds of lives and the destruction of properties must not be sacrificed for expediency. The policy of appeasement has never worked. Pakistan’s security forces must take immediate action before it’s too late.

- Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a former scholar at Woodrow Wilson Centre and a visiting fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, and at the Stimson Center in DC. He is author of Frontline Pakistan: The struggle with Militant Islam and The Scorpion’s tail: The relentless rise of Islamic militants in Pakistan. Frontline Pakistan was the book of the year (2007) by the WSJ. His latest book ‘No-Win War’ was published this year. Twitter: @hidhussain