How ‘Pakistan’s Switzerland’ became Taliban land

How ‘Pakistan’s Switzerland’ became Taliban land

By Manjusha Madhu

Feb 02, 2009

A princely state in NWFP until it was dissolved in 1969, Swat was a famous centre of Buddhism during the Mauryan period. In December 2008, most of this area was captured by Taliban insurgents headed by Maulana Fazlullah and his group Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. In most places, they have established a parallel Government with their own code of law based on the Shariat. Traditionally the area has been a stronghold of the Pakistan People’s Party and the Awami National Party, but the militants are trying to weed out their supporters. Nearly a third of Swat’s 1.5 million people have migrated due to the fighting.

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