Bring tourists back to paradise

Swat, a valley and district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a treat to the eyes with high mountains, green meadows, and fairy lakes. It is a place of great natural scenic beauty. Until recently, it was a popular destination for tourists. It was a princely state in the NWFP until it was dissolved in 1969. The Swat Valley is a several-hours drive from the capital, Islamabad. It was a prime tourist destination with ancient Buddhist ruins, a golf course, trout streams and the country´s only ski resort.

The main town in Swat valley is Mingora. In recent years, militant Islamists in the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), led by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, have rebelled against the government in Swat. In the 59 villages, the militants set up a parallel government with religious courts imposing the Sharia law. After a four-month truce ended in late September, 2007, the fighting resumed. The paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) was deployed in the area, but initially it was reported to be ineffective.

Militants were reported on November 16, 2007 to have captured Alpuri district headquarters in the neighbouring Shangla. The local police fled without resisting the advancing militant force which, in addition to local militants, also included Uzbek, Tajik and Chechen volunteers. In late November 2007, Pakistani regular forces threw out TNSM militants from their stronghold in the village of Imam Dheri, eight kilometres from the valley´s main town of Mingora in the Kabal district of north-Western Swat. About 250 militants died in two weeks of fighting, during which the base was bombarded by artillery, according to Pakistani authorities.

People in a number of towns destroyed the fortified bunkers the rebels had left behind as the militants retreated into the mountains. As of December 2007, the militants were largely defeated and were on the run with the valley largely cleared. Scores of people have died in suicide attacks and bomb blasts over the past six months in the area. Over 5,000 military and paramilitary troops, 300 men of the FC and 1,200 policemen were deployed in the region. After an almost 9-month long operation in the Swat Valley, finally, the government announced it had struck a peace deal with the militants. The government vowed to introduce Sharia law and gradually withdrew troops while the militants promised to stop attacks.

Under the pact, militias are banned, militants from outside the area will be handed to the authorities, the display of guns will be banned and the militants will not try to stop health teams inoculating children or girls from school. "Taliban have accepted government´s writ in the region and will help the local administration in maintaining law and order in the district," NWFP´s Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour told newsmen. Mr Bilour had led the government´s side in talks with the militants. He said the Taliban had renounced militancy and promised not to attack troops and government installations. They have also agreed to eliminate all sources of militancy and stop training suicide bombers. The 15-point peace agreement envisages a phased withdrawal of troops from the district and requires Maulana Fazlullah´s supporters to stop attacks on security forces, and government officials and installations.

Under the agreement, the government will withdraw cases registered against the Taliban. A joint committee will scrutinise the cases filed against militants, including Maulana Fazlullah. It is a positive development that the Imam Dheri seminary, which served as the headquarters of the Maulana, will be converted into an Islamic University. A committee comprising local ulema, MPAs, the district coordination officer and assistant coordination officers will manage the university.

Maulana Fazlullah has been allowed to run his controversial FM radio station with the permission of the authorities concerned. The militants promised not to attack barber shops and music centres. The Taliban will help the action taken by local authorities against kidnappers, robbers and other criminals. The government will pay compensation to the people who have lost their relatives in the military operation and whose houses have been damaged. The agreement calls for eliminating training centres for suicide bombers and stopping preparation of explosive devices in the area. Bilour said a committee comprising representatives of the government and the Taliban had been formed to ensure implementation of the agreement.

A Taliban shura member, Ali Bakht, said, "We accept all the terms and conditions of the agreement and we are hopeful that the deal will bring peace to our area." While the agreement has rekindled hopes for peace in what once was a tourist hotspot, observers said they like to wait for the reaction of more hardened elements like Jaish-e-Mohammad fighters and non-local militants, mostly from Punjab. Pakistan has cut similar peace deals in the past but critics, including Western allies, have complained they have merely allowed militants to regroup and plot more violence. The US has not come out that openly on the Swat pact. It does not want militants to be able to use any part of Pakistan to launch violence at home or abroad, a US State Department spokesman said.

Pakistan is passing through a difficult phase, when the West wants its key ally to continue its fight against the militants. But waging this war on terror has pushed the country into unrest. On the one hand, the country is fighting the war on terror, which brings into being suicide bombers, and on the other, the problems like democracy, restoration of the deposed judges, skyrocketing prices of daily items, power crisis and water shortage keep a robust grip on the country. So, for it is the question of prosperity of the country, the government should take decisions on its internal matters by taking people into confidence and disconnect the pressure of the West. Peace pacts with militants remain a tradition from the early history of Islam and always produced good results. So far, peace agreements with the Taliban should be given a go-ahead, with the hope that tourists will return to the paradise.