Word: swat
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...First, the Taliban in the Swat Valley announced an indefinite cease-fire, but only after the army had agreed to halt its counterinsurgency operations and the government caved in to the militants' demand for the imposition of Islamic law. Then it emerged that the Taliban and the army would both be observing a four-day truce in Bajaur, the tribal area along the Afghan border that has seen the fiercest fighting in Pakistan's domestic campaign against extremists. And on a more ominous note, last weekend at an undisclosed location deep in Waziristan's mountains, Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud...
...Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan is now the domain of Taliban militants. Bombings have become commonplace in many towns, as have hostage-takings and public hangings. The craftwork is gone. Local music stations have been replaced with extremist radio propaganda. Women have been banned from walking the streets in many locations, and at least a dozen of the valley's once bustling resorts have been forced to close, including Malam Jabba, which militants torched last year. "I have many nice memories there, so I am very sad about it," says Nisar, a photographer from Lahore. Even as cross-border tensions...
...that once held so many pleasant memories. On Tuesday, the Taliban indefinitely extended a fragile 10-day cease-fire with the Pakistani military, granting more time for peace talks to end more than a year of fighting. Last week's agreement to impose a form of Islamic law in Swat has many feeling encouraged that this turbulent region will finally see a return to calm. "The fighting with the military is what made it dangerous," Nisar says. "The tribal people used to have Shari'a law in this part of Pakistan and it was so peaceful, so I think this...
...implementation of Shari'a law is not bad news to many who believe it will be adopted in its moderate form. Karachi native Jamal Panhwal used to work in Pakistan's now shrinking tourism industry and until 2007, guided hundreds of walking tours through Swat. Says he: "I am quite confident the people causing trouble are not from Swat. The natives of this community are the most progressive Pathans. If law is in the control of the local people of Swat, then everything will be fine...
...commentator says. "But with a growing presence of the Taliban in the south, he was playing a role in stopping their spread. Now there is a vacuum. The government is also sending a wrong message. On the one hand, it is negotiating a deal with the Taliban in Swat, and on the other, it is pushing democrats out of the political system...