Re: The Swat Crisis - News, Articles, Opinions
Swat Calls For Civil Society to Act](http://www.chowk.com/articles/print/15263)
Zubair Torwali
Jan 7, 2009
The main town of Swat, Mingora, has now virtually fallen to the militants. The police comes to the streets escorted by the army officials for a couple of hours and then leave for their ‘hide-outs’. One of the busiest square, the Grain Chowk, was renamed by the shopkeepers as Khooni Chowk (Bloody Square) as a sign protest because when they come to their shops in the morning on each day they find four or five dead bodies hung over the poles or the trees. They see dead bodies scattered along the foot path in the morning. The bodies are usually headless.
The practice goes thus with an average of four deaths daily in the square. Similarly on each morning there are found throat slit bodies in Qambar, Kabal, Matta, Khawza Khela and Charbagh. This practice has been going on for weeks; and unfortunately does not seem to stop.
15th January is the deadline by the militants to close all the schools, especially those of girls. Now as the deadline is coming nearer the people are getting more terrified. Killing goes on hiking day by day; government writ is a faded vision; elected councilors and Nazims are killed, women no more allowed to visit bazaars; markets are deserted, police stations vacated, people from non-governmental organizations are forced to leave the valley; and terrified children play ‘Fouji Taliban’ game. This is a new game the children have made for themselves based on the ‘greater game’ between the militants and the security forces. In this game one child comes forward challenging the other. One becomes a Fouji whereas the other becomes a Talib; and the game begins. [How much resilient are our children!]
Amidst extreme cold the people have nothing left to desire for. Every day they see dead bodies lying on the roads and streets. No mother is certain whether her son would come back home alive or not. Fear prevails in the whole valley. Anarchy roams every where masked and disguised
The infrastructure including roads was badly damaged. People cannot move inside Swat. About all the bridges are wholly or partially damaged. Beyond the main town there exists no more the facility of telephone. The phones are dead for the last five months. In addition most of the people live in utter dark because, again and again, there inflicts heavy loss to the electric installations.
There is human rights violation from the security forces side as well. They do not let people move outside there homes. Curfew is imposed constraining the people inside homes for weeks. They fire indiscriminately. Whenever there happens something the security forces open fire on general public. The general public in Swat cannot demonstrate because they are in between the devil and the deep sea. Whenever they try to protest against the atrocities of the government the security forces open fire on the crowds killing dozen of people. The people cannot say anything against the militants as they see dead bodies on every morning with letters telling that anybody ever dares to oppose the militants that would be his destiny.
The FM radios are functioning causing more recruits in the circle of the militants. There is even news that in some areas the militants have compelled the local population that it would be obligatory upon each household to get one man recruited in the files of the militants.
The various check posts set by the security forces are of no sue at all. The people question how scores of militants had entered Kalam last week in spite of the six check posts from Bagh Dahri to Bahrain.
All this is going on with the people of Swat. The government has failed to end the militancy. On the contrary it has now given a boost to the militants. It is well apparent that the militants are now the victors in the war. The government is not to be said as the vanquished but the people living in Swat are the victims and vanquished.
But who cares about? The government has been entangled in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage. It has no sinews left to provide security for the people of Swat. The world leaders visit Pakistan and India in order to disengage these two countries from a war. There is no doubt that Pakistan is in the worst crisis since its inception but the people of Swat are even in a worse situation that the people of Gaza. In Gaza the enemy is well known but in Swat the people know not who the enemy is; and whom to hold responsible.
People of Swat particularly, and the Pukhtun intelligentsia in general are very particular about the civil society in Pakistan. The civil society of any country is regarded as a great force to mobilize the general public against the violation of civil rights and liberty. It is considered as a bulwark against the violation of human rights. It is deemed as the upholder of people’s rights where the state fails to deliver.
The civil society of Pakistan is not weaker. Though divided into a number of agendas yet it can uphold and mobilize the people of Pakistan. The mettle of Pakistani civil society was tested in the movement for the restoration of the judiciary. It has also contributed in bringing the cases of honor killing in different parts of the country. People can still trust the civil society but in the case of Swat the civil society has apparently adopted an ostrich-like strategy. We hear no voice raise against the atrocities committed in Swat. No civil society organization in Pakistan raised its voice against the plight of the women and children in Swat.
We saw no demonstration in the big cities against the monster of militancy in Swat; and in FATA. The media also seems apathetic about the plight. The general intelligentsia is awfully divided on the issue altogether. They bicker on the question whether the ‘war on terror’ is Pakistan’s war or not. Among them those are more vocal who had brought this war to Pakistan three decades back. The print media does well to some extent but their scope is limited. A few voices in the Urdu print media are strong enough to be pro-people but what is happening to their feelings is obvious from the email messages they get as reaction to their writing.
Where does the civil society stand now? Is it frightened? Is it helpless as the people of Swat are, or has it given up will and hope? The people of Swat ask you to come out on their behalf and mobilize the general public against the intestine war going on in the region. The people implore you to feel empathy with them; to imagine their plight. The people implore you to come out of your drawing rooms and stage protests against what is going on in Swat.