Held hostage: Militants of Tehreek-i-Taliban -- the Pakistani Taliban and one of the Islamist groups targeted by the military -- guard kidnapped police and Frontier Corps personnel in Matta, a town in Swat valley, on Sept. 14, 2008. Kidnapping of security forces and government officials is one of the many ways Islamist militant groups are wreaking havoc in northwest Pakistan. Foreigners have also been abducted, including a Polish engineer, an Iranian diplomat, and a Canadian journalist. In the past 19 months, attacks by militants have killed more than 1,500 people in Pakistan.
School's out, forever: Students gather outside their school after it was destroyed by militants in Kundar village of Swat Valley on Jan. 17. In December 2008, a Taliban leader threatened to kill any girls going to school after Jan. 15 and to bomb any schools that allowed girls. Since 2007, nearly 200 schools have been destroyed or damaged, including more than 100 schools for girls. The Taliban's threats don't just hurt girls' education; they create a panic that keeps boys from coming to class, too.
Making a point: The Pakistani Army patrols the empty village of Spinkai on May 18, 2008, four months after it was razed in a collective punishment that was part of Operation Zalzala, an effort to flush out Taliban militants led by Baitullah Mehsud. The Army found bomb factories and a school for suicide bombers. As punishment for providing the militants a haven, the Army destroyed the village's bazaar and shops. "I should have destroyed everyone's house, but I didn't. Call it my weakness. Call it kindness," one brigadier told The Guardian.
Unhappy campers: Some 24,000 people live in utter misery in the 3,500-tent Jalozai camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) near Peshawar, seen here on Feb. 21. "Life here is difficult. We cannot adjust to a situation where we live just like cattle," a 35-year-old farmer told IRIN, a U.N. news agency. More than 300,000 people in northwest Pakistan were displaced in the six months from August 2008 to February 2009, Pakistani government officials have said. More than 450,000 people total have been displaced, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates, and the number could reach 600,000.
Holiday's over: Swat Valley, in the North-West Frontier Province, was once called the "Switzerland of Pakistan" because of its bucolic mountains. Home to the country's only ski resort, it attracted international tourists for skiing in the winter and cool mountain hikes in the summer. Today, the lucrative tourism industry has been decimated. Swat Valley is now effectively run by the Taliban. Followers of Islamist leader Maulana Fazlullah have spent nearly two years terrorizing the populace, enforcing their extremist interpretation of sharia and beheading opponents. Above, a displaced boy tends his sheep in Swat Valley on Feb. 7.
Source: http://www.foreignpolicy.com
Some relevant comments:
The jihadi generation has graduated from madarsah’s and is gradually taking control of Pakistan to implement their nefarious designs.
Unfortunately, large majority of people in the country have been brain washed to believe that India/US and rest of the western world are conspiring against us. Our corrupt leaders on the other hand are making most of the situation by pretending to be steadfast against fight to eliminate terror, but practically doing nothing.
“It is time to show solidarity with the people inhabiting the tribal belt.”
...You can show them solidarity by donating 10% of your income to go directly for development projects in the tribal areas. You can show solidarity by donating your time (if you are a medical doctor) by going to the tribal areas and trying to set-up a hospital. If you are PHD, you can go to the tribal areas and try to see where you can set-up a school.
What doesn’t show solidarity is providing rationale to the terrorists to continue their activites….
Talibans and their supporters are killers and enemy of Pakistan, period.
even india ,usa and israel are our enemies but thy are out of our reach.if they doing any thing in pakistan they are doing through talban,so eliminate talban,all ur problems are solved.i bet it pakistan will be a peacefull nation with out talban.any body who support talban,is even worst than indian and israelies.
Source: pk politics
1 comment:
FIVE REGIONAL CITIES OF PAKISTAN should be upgraded with in the provinces of the country. Regional cities of Dera Ismail Khan in NWFP, Gawadar/ Qalat in Balouchistan, Sukkar/ Larkana in Upper Sind, Jehlam/ Rawalpindi and Multan in Punjab province. These regional cities have been ignored by the federal and provincial governments although these cities have their own history, culture and languages.Dera Ismail Khan in south of Pakhtun khwa/MWFP is under seige, Multan/DG Khan in south of Punjab is next target of religious extremists,Sukkar/ Larkana is being rule by criminals, Gawadar/ Qalat is trouble some. The people of these regions have to travel to provincial capitals for every small issue and requirement of the daily life which should be provided in nearby cities. A good number of population travel to big cities for their survival to earn livelihood as the local feudal own majority land and keep the common man as their slaves. Creation of regional government and upgrading of the regional cities will save a lot of money and time of the poor people of these regions. Circuit benches of the High Courts are already working in these areas and only requirement is the additional staff of different departments involved in additional work at the provincial capitals. The concern authorities should immediately consider to upgrade the regional cities. And immediate attention should be given upgrade/build the airports,TV station, civic center, libraries,hospitals, educational institutes and investment opportunities for Pakistanis living abroad and foreign firms to create jobs in the area as majority population in rural Pakistan do not have enough resources to survive. It’s remind me the condition of pre Islamic revolution of Iran in Shah time when the rural Iran was ignored and the capital Tehran was developed in a way to call it Paris of Middle East with modern life style. Couple of other big cities like Isfahan and Caspian sea was taken care of because of foreign tourists but rural area was ruled by cruel police and intelligence. Then what happen rural population supported the Islamic revolution and moved to Tehran and other big cities later on. The new government after revolution developed, built and upgraded the rural areas of Iran accordingly. A fund to upgrade/build these regional cities in Pakistan should be established by public and private sector and Pakistani government, our foreign friends and Pakistanis living abroad may be asked to participate in this development mission in the country..KHWAJA AFTAB ALI,( former secretary, Iranian embassy, Saudi Arabia,1979-88) Advocate High Court & I.P. Attorney-first & the only Pakistani lawyer who earned Intellectual Property laws scholarship in USA,presently residing in Florida, USA.all_languages@hotmail.com
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