State within state

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State within state

Things are going from bad to worse in Swat where the militants are running a parallel government

By Behroz Khan

A parallel system of governance is strengthening roots under the command of the Taliban in the Swat Valley, as the writ of the state is on the decline.

Unexpectedly, the government which is fighting to establish its writ through security forces is losing ground to the advancing fighters of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) led by Maulana Fazlullah. Through the use of intelligence, latest communication networking and spreading propaganda through an uninterrupted FM radio channel, TTP is getting extremely strong. An autonomous state is emerging with its information ministry represented by TTP Swat's spokesman, Haji Muslim Khan. Journalists have, of late, been contacting Haji Muslim Khan for confirmation and verification of bomb blasts, suicide bombings, and attacks on the security forces check posts and convoys instead of a government functionary.

Trials, executions and whippings in criminal cases and quick decisions in cases of civil nature by the militants have replaced the existing setup of courts on more than two-thirds territory of the valley.

Helpless people with small landholdings and concerned about the education of their children, and those having affiliations with political parties, particularly Awami National Party, have either shifted their families to other parts of the province and elsewhere or are waiting for the opportunity to get out of their native Swat.

No elected parliamentarians can dare enter Swat since they were elected with the votes of the local people on Feb 18, 2008. Family members of Waqar Khan and Wajid Ali Khan, ANP's elected members of the NWFP Assembly, even stayed away from attending the funeral of their near and dear ones killed at the hands of militants. Decapitation is on the rise and all those considered even a slightest threat to the militants have either been killed and made examples of or are on the hit list.

Like the rest of the picturesque valley, Mingora city too has become a ghost city, of late. Few people are seen on the streets these days in the city, which were bursting with visiting tourists throughout the year. Since the launch of the military operation in October last year, the situation has gone from bad to worse.

The famous Green Chowk in Mingora has got a new name 'khuni chowk'. Every morning, people wake up to the reality that beheaded or bullet- riddled bodies of personnel of the security forces or opponents of Taliban are either hanged or thrown in Green Chowk.

TTP has been emboldened by its successes against the government to the extent that the Jan 15 deadline given to people regarding ban on girls' education has been extended to Malakand Agency sharing boundaries with Buner in the east, Dir Lower in the north and Mardan district in the south. More than 150 schools have been bombed and burnt in Swat alone with about 100 of them being girl schools. About 190 schools are closed in the upper Swat valley, leaving more than 90,000 students without education. Parents are in quandary as schools and colleges have remained closed in most of Swat for more than a year now.

Maulana Fazlullah's men have also set up their own system of tax collection. In parts of the valley, Ushr, (Islamic tax), which is one-tenth of the crop and fruit produce was collected this fall and almost 90 percent of hides collected from the sacrificial animals on Eid-ul-Azha went to the Bait-ul-Maal of Maulana Fazlullah. Kidnapping for ransom, looting banks and items taken from captured households of opponents are other means of raising funds for the Bait-ul-Maal.

TTP's fighters are paid regular salaries and provided with latest weapons and sufficient ammunition. They get a share of the war booty as well. They have set up an effective network of paid informers giving the impression as if it is run by a state. Their main target is the police force, which in comparison is poorly equipped and low in morale. A sizeable number of the police force, according to local and police sources have resigned or are unwilling to report to duty. Those performing duty, mostly remain indoor and away from public places to avoid being exposed.

The influence and scope of activities of TTP has not only extended to lower Swat valley, but to other areas like Buner and Malakand Agency as well. A polling station was bombed in Buner during the by-elections on Dec 28 when a suicide bomber drove a car into a school building in Shalbandai village, killing 44 people including children. The shooting of a Chinese engineer working on Malakand III hydro project is another example that militancy is spreading in the region.

The provincial coalition government headed by ANP has expressed dissatisfaction over the ongoing military operation in Swat and the NWFP Assembly has passed a resolution asking the authorities to make it "more effective." On the other hand, the provincial government which has two separate agreements with both Maulana Fazlullah and his father-in-law, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, is hard pressed in getting approval from the president on the implementation of the Shariah draft for Malakand division.

However, provincial information minister and ANP's leader, Mian Iftikhar Hussain is hopeful. "We are targets because we want peace. We are not fighting against Taliban. The term Taliban is respectable for us due to religious reasons. Our fight is against those having no religion and no Pashtunwali." Hussain said these forces are bent upon sabotaging peace and a time will come when these faces will be exposed to the whole world. He said that ANP is not the only target because a national level leader like Benazir Bhutto also fell prey to the conspiracies of these terrorist forces. "We are following in the foot steps of Bacha Khan and he taught us nothing but non-violence. If he could succeed against the might of the British Empire with empty hands, we are of the firm belief that we will win this time as well."


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So, slowly Pakistan state is losing ground in SWAT.