Tabassum Majeed’s “Swat Under Taliban: Conflict Dynamics and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding” delves into the unrestrained period of the Taliban’s reign in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, offering a critical and first-hand analysis of the rise of militancy and the trajectory of conflict’s dynamics and the path toward Peacebuilding. The book is a diligent research of the dark chapter in the history of Swat where from mid-2008 to mid-2009, some worst tragedies happened in the dazzling valley.
Majeed, drawing most likely on her experience within the region, explained the role of national and international seniors, from the wave of Islamization in the country to the incident of 9/11 how all the state and non-state actors and all other factors allowed the Taliban to gain a foothold in Swat. The book explores the breakdown of governance, the rise of militant groups, and the social climate that provided fertile ground for the Taliban’s ideology.
The narrative then presumably shifts towards the harsh realities of the Taliban’s rule. Majeed likely documents the impact on civilians, including the erosion of civil liberties, the implementation of strict religious codes, the suspension of women’s education, and the violence that permeated everyday life. An important aspect of the book is its examination of the eventual decline of the Taliban’s control which was made possible with the help of the Pakistan army. The military operations, the role of local resistance movements, and the factors that contributed to the weakening of the Taliban’s grip on the valley.
Pakistan’s peaceful Swat valley plugged into violent activities soon after the tragic incident of September 11, 20021 which was followed by the US-led war on terror. The War on terror became the immediate reason for insurgencies and extremism in Pakistan but the underlying reason dates back to the late 1970s to the era of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. In opposition to Bhutto’s nationalization and socialization policies, a wave of calls for Islamic laws ignited in the country. Then General Zia-ul-Haq promised the nation that he would Islamize the country. During General Zia’s era, an upsurge of Islamization was seen in Pakistan where several madrassas were established country.
With the wave of Islamization in the country, the religious factor in swat also gained impetus. Meanwhile, an organization, Tahreel-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) emerged on the scene in the Malakand region and began calling for enforcement of Islamic Shariah Laws. Formed by Sufi Muhammad resident of Lower Dir in 1989, the TNSM’s wanted a quick system of justice. To draw the attention of the government and to achieve their demands Sufi Muhammad arranged protests in 1994 and then in 1999 and blocked the national highway (Which connects Malakand division with the rest of the country). Both of these protests resulted in a major success of TNSM and the government accepted their demand and promulgated the regulations Nifaz-i-Nizam-e-shariah, and Shari-i-Nizam-e-Adal in 1994 and 1996 respectively.
In the meantime, Al-Qaidla Attacked on World Trade Center (New York) on 11/09/2001, and then America started the War on Terror in the region. Sufi Muhammad prepared an Army of 10,000 persons for jihad against America which reached Afghanistan in October 2001. Most of them were killed and some were sent to jail. Sufi Muhammad, his son-in-law Mullah Fazlullah, and some flowers managed to get back across the Pak-Afghan border where they were imprisoned. Pervez Musharraf banned TNSM along with other Jihadi organizations.
Mullah Fazlullah was released after 17 months in 2004 and he filled the vacuum in swat for a new leader of militants which was created by the arrest of Sufi Muhammad. Then he started an illegal radio channel through which he started a purity campaign and he earned the nickname of Radio Mullah. In the beginning, the campaign was not violent but it became violent when the younger brother of Mullah Fazlullah was killed in a Military strike against a seminary in Bajaur Agency in 2006. And then he was further triggered by the military operation on Lal masjid and Jamia Hafsa in 2007.
Mullah Fazlullah declared war against the Government of Pakistan and openly challenged the writ of the government. He formed his own Militia forces named Shaheen Force. The swat police FC (Frontier Constabulary) attacked his Shaheen forces in July 2007 but did not succeed. Meanwhile, the umbrella organization of Taliban, the TTP was formed by Baitullah Mehsud in 2007 and TNSM became its swat branch TTS (Taheek Taliban swat).
The discourse created by Mullah Fazlullah revolves around Jihad, extremism, anti-modernism, anti-state, and anti-women. They destroyed centuries-old Buddha and pre-historic rock cravings in the valley. Women were not allowed by the Taliban to go outside of their homes, Girls education was banned. With time the movement became more violent and they started Suicide attacks, Police stations were vacated because of threats, and the boards on the stations were replaced with Taliban police stations.
After this, the provincial government announced an operation in late October 2007 named Rah-e-Haq I. The operation started in November and then in late December all the occupied buildings were evacuated by the Pakistan Army. Although the operation was not fully successful The Taliban left cities and fled to the mountains as a result of this operation.
The General elections were held in 2008 and ANP (Awami National Party) formed a government in KP. The party has the main slogan of “restoration of peace” so they released Sufi Muhammad as a goodwill gesture and signed a 16-point agreement with them in May 2008.
The main points include Taliban would “Stop Violation and the government would implement Islamic Shariah Law in Malakand division” This pact was violated by mullah Fazlullah by slaughtering 2 junior ISI officers. The Pakistan army then without any delay started the second phase of the operation Raah-e-Haq against the Taliban in June 2008. During this operation, a lot of government servants were slaughtered by the Taliban in the Green Chowk of Mingora which was then called khooni chowk. The operation affected the innocent civilians of Swat and approximately 2 million people migrated to other cities. Around 8,000 Pakistani security troops fought with 5,000 tp 6,000 Taliban.
In January 2009, the third phase of the operation known as Rah-e-Haq III was announced but all these operations did not turn out successful in bringing peace to the valley. The government signed another peace agreement “Swat peace accord 2009” with the Taliban in February 2009. This was signed by then-president Asif Ali Zardari and Sufi Muhammad. The US, India, and a lot of other countries opposed the agreement but the government did not take notice of their Concern.
Despite multiple agreements, the Taliban continued violating agreements & laws and kept performing their terrorist activities. They kept expanding their activities outside the swat and Malakand region. Which led the government to take a strong and full-fledged operation to clear them from the country. Then in a press conference Yousef Raza Gillani, the then prime minister on 7 May 2009 announced a grand Military operation against the Taliban and was named Rah-e-Raast. Before starting the operation military ordered the civilians to evacuate the valley and also provided RPZ (Relief providing Zones) for them in different cities of the country. The operation was executed in May and June 2009 with great success the army took out all militant groups from the scenic valley of Swat. Several Taliban commanders were killed during the operation and the leader of TNSM and the Swat chapter of TTP, Fazlullah, allegedly ran away to Afghanistan.
The valley then entered a post-conflict situation after the grand military operation. The rehabilitation of the government institutions was the responsibility of the government but due to slow response from the government, the civil society organizations and NGOs actively participated in post-conflict rehabilitation and peacebuilding.
In conclusion, the vacuum created by a weak judicial system and poor governance created space for militias to gain ground in the valley. The local government after multiple accords was not succeeful in bringing peace to the region but the grand military operation Raah-e-Raast and efforts of Pakistan Army not only evacuated the Taliban but brought back peace to the region. A major paradigm shift noted in the strategic theory of the country was that the country finally recognized the Taliban as an enemy. Tabassum Majeed’s ” Swat Under Taliban is a must-read for anyone seeking to Know about the swat state and Talibanization in the Malakand division.
Ms Jana Awez is a political science graduate from IIUI. She is as a Research & Media Analyst and Independent writer .
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