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Mingora under army
With militancy resurfacing in
parts of Swat, the provincial government has decided to hand
over Mingora, the headquarters of the scenic valley, to army.
The followers of Maulvi Fazlullah, the activist of Tehrik
Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have almost set up a parallel
administration – with courts, qazis and vigilante groups – in
Mingora, Matta and Malam Jabba areas. Trouble has also been
brewing up in Charbagh, Kabal and some other strongholds of the
extremists. For 22nd consecutive day, the
Kanju-Kabal Road continues to be
closed to traffic. With fingers on triggers, the security men
stand vigil atop Mingora police station. Two divisions of army
have already been deployed in Swat while contingents of the
third started arriving into Mingora on the night between Friday
and Saturday. NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani dropped hints the
other day that in order to ensure permanent peace, army would
have to be to be deployed in the area over an extended period of
time and the only feasible way to do so was to set up a
cantonment in Mingora.
With educational institutions
going up in flames one after the other and prominent figures
from the ruling party being targeted along with their families
and homes, the administration cannot possibly stay eternally
indifferent like a silent spectator. Due to fear, anxiety and a
sense of insecurity, the people of Swat have restricted their
movement. Recently the militants reportedly gunned down the
brother of Provincial Minister Wajid Ali Khan but for his own
security the minister was advised not to attend the funeral.
Fear reigns supreme in the valley and has changed the contours
of the age-old rituals. Frightened parents have moved out of the
area to educate their children. Those staying behind have just
stopped sending their sons and daughters to schools. No
government worth its salt can look the other way when its
tax-payers are forcibly being slid back into the stone age. |