Afia Ambreen
The scenic valley of Swat has always been at the epicenter of many man-made tragedies and natural calamities. From the 1992 insurrection by Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) to the battle of 2007 and 2009 between Pakistan Army and Taliban militants, Swat has remained in the limelight. The First Battle of Swat, also known as Operation Rah-e-Haq, was fought between Pakistan and the Taliban in late 2007 over control of the Swat District of Pakistan. The battle began on October 25, 2007 and involved the Pakistani Army and Taliban-led forces in a fight for control of the Swat district of Pakistan. From October 25, 2007, to November 7, 2007, the militants quickly seized control of the region. On November 15, 2007, a Pakistani offensive commenced. In between, Pakistan Army launched various military operations to defeat the Taliban militants, but had to bow down to political pressure, which demanded for peace. Operation Rah-e-Haq-II was launched in July 2008 as the first infantry division was deployed . This time the military operation was led by both Air Force and Army. The operation was relied on both air power as well as heavy artillery. Soon the Taliban Forces, led by Faqir Mohammed, started playing havoc in Bajaur Agency. So the Army started Operation Sherdil.
The Army launched Operation Rah-e-Haq-III in January 2009 to secure the main supply lines and consolidate Swat District. Frontier Corps infantry troops provided help to four army infantry brigades. The last week of January saw intensive aerial and artillery bombing. The forces regained Mingora and were poised to push the Taliban out of the district when Sufi Muhammad was released and Shariah was introduced in Swat and Malakand. The provincial government was confident of the outcome of the peace deal. However, the TTP betrayed the government by regrouping and capturing Swat, Buner, Mingora, Shangla and its surrounding areas. When the situation went out of hand, the provincial government requested the center to ask the Army to provide help. Events show that the Army never avoided taking decisive action but bowed to political pressure from the center and provincial government. However, it did so at an extremely high cost.
In this respect, in May 16, 2009, Pakistan’s Armed Forces started military operation in Swat. And, within less than three months, Pakistan’s forces successfully ejected the well-trained and well-armed Taliban militants out of Buner, Dir, Swat and other adjoining areas. By sacrificing their lives, our forces killed and captured thousands of the militants-breaking their backbone by eliminating their control and command structure. Reports suggested that tens thousands of the Taliban had fled Afghanistan. It is mentionable that during the Swat Operation, the TTP militants had been supported by some foreign secret agencies, especially Indian RAW. Through their well-established networks in Afghanistan, they were sending arms and weapons to the Swat-based terrorists with a view to weakening Pakistan which is the only nuclear country in the Islamic World.
Nevertheless, there are various causes which demoralized the insurgents of Swat. Firstly, high ‘moral force’ and ‘will to fight’ coupled with strong determination and cohesiveness as noted in Pakistan’s Armed Forces played a key role in expelling Taliban out of Swat. In this regard, airstrikes by Pakistan Air Force targeted their strongholds. And during street to street fighting, without bothering for their lives, and by air-dropping commandos at the risky places, our forces made a great headway in disrupting the Taliban supply routes. They besieged them at various hotspots, rendering them unable to send reinforcements to their fighters. Secondly, morale of Pak Army was very high. Thirdly, local people started denying the Taliban sanctuaries, and disrupted their links with each other. Fourthly, general masses of Swat opposed the brutal acts of these terrorists which compelled them to leave their houses. They came to know that under the cover of Islamic laws-terror, not Sharia was militants’ real agenda. Hence, they were misusing Jihad which does not allow suicide attacks in killing their own Muslim brethren.
Maulana Sufi Mohammad and Mullah Fazalullah tried to impose extreme rules on the residents of Swat. These rules were against the Constitution of Pakistan. Some residents supported them economically, politically, socially and morally to make their operations successful. Both militants have had close contacts with foreign terrorists and agencies. These agencies provided funds for the terrorist activities, suicide attacks on military forces and bomb blasts on crowded places. In the name of Islam and Jihad they resorted to these ill motivated tasks. It caused a lot of deaths, pain and agony on the population. These militants challenged the laws of the country and wanted to establish a legal code based on strict Sharia. People of Swat finally achieved peace and got spared from the scourge of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism at the least for the time being. The good future can follow if the residents of Swat work hard to maintain peace and discipline under the laws created by the national government. Security forces secured Swat Valley from Taliban militants during military operation in 2009. Overall situation seems to be normal in the area as there is no active battle between security forces and militants. There are no militants on the street, music and barber shops are open, girls are going to schools and women are visible in markets.
