SPECIAL REPORT

In a conscious move to express solidarity with the militancy-hit residents of the Swat Valley, only about 130 kilometers northwest of capital Islamabad , the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) on April 15th convened a meeting of government, non-government and media representatives at the Press Club in Mingora, the administrative headquarter of Swat. Another objective was also to figure out what problems and challenges the locals have been facing almost ten months after the military declared control over the scenic valley.

The seminar, attended by a cross section of the society ´ government officials, local aid workers, school teachers, lawyers, and farmers ´ turned out to be an indictment of the provincial government for a multitude of reasons.

This gathering, by coincidence happened to be the first of its kind in almost three years as the brutal Taliban-led militancy had gradually silences almost everybody and forced state institutions into retreat. Threat of suicide attacks held government and non-governmental organization from holding public meetings until recently. And that is why the CRSS seminar on the ‘Challenges of Reconstruction’ was well attended and widely appreciated.

Background:

The military operation with the help of almost 20,000 army that formally began on May 7, 2009, had resulted in one of the largest ever internal displacements ´ over two million ´ into the hot plains of districts such as Dargai, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda and Peshawar. But after the army claimed control of major areas in Swat, the bulk of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) headed back home in the last quarter of 2009.

An all-out campaign against militants had become imminent after they flouted a peace deal they had struck with the government in February 2009, by imposing their will on people and challenging state institutions in Malakand with the help of their armed gangs. Additionally, one of the Taliban mentors, the ageing Maulana Sufi Mohammad, caused consternation across Pakistan on April 19, when he in a speech carried live by several private TV channels, ridiculed the country Parliament, the Supreme Court and termed the government system as ‘un Islamic.’

Adding fuel to fire, militants executed four Pakistan army commandos in the Buner mountains only a few days later, leaving the military with no option but to assail them. It was around the time when militants had seized vintage positions in Buner, about a 100 kilometers northwest of Islamabad triggering fears they might sweep into the capital soon. The army, however, moved from three directions in the Swat region and cleared most of the areas within two months. One of the consequences of the anti-terror campaign was mass displacement of over two million people

Current Scenario:

Meanwhile, a fragile peace under the shadows of the army prevails.

Almost a year after Pakistan launched a multi-pronged military operation to evict Taliban militants from the Swat Valley, only about 130 kilometres northwest of capital Islamabad, life seems back to normal ´ apparently. Markets are bustling, boys and girls are back at school. The Green Square ´ which had become synonymous with ‘ Killer Square’ (because the Taliban often strung up beheaded dead bodies of opponents here) until the army moved in, today carries the Pakistani flag and posters of locals leaders. The main Mingora bazaar is echoing with blaring horns of big and small vehicles. The road to picturesque Kalam is open, albeit covered by several military-led security check posts. The civilian and military authorities plan to hold a summer festival there in June to reinvigorate the almost dead tourist industry. Most hotels between Mingora and Kalam are shut, many in a shambles as a result of no-maintenance since they shuttered down in the face of Taliban ascendancy in July 2007.

The bulk of the displaced people are back to their homes; some have simply reopened their shops, or resumed jobs with the public and private sector. Some are busy tending to their fields, or rebuilding homes and shops only partially damaged. But there are those tens of thousands who are still waiting for tourism, fishing, gemstone and agriculture to pick up steam to provide jobs.
Hotel managers and owners, for instance, are looking forward to the summer festival and many plan to reopen their facilities. But almost everyone is scared of the cost of rehabilitation and renovation of the hotels and restaurants.

Complaints/Suggestion for People:

The public at large doesn–t seem to be very happy with the situation. Let us look at the complaints that echoed at the CRSS seminar in Mingora:

• Most people acknowledge peace is back but they call this peace fragile. They fear that Taliban might come back and would repeat their history of killing the supporters of Pakistan and Army. There is hardly any confidence in the peace process in the region.
• Coordination among Non-governmental organizations is missing and there is hardly any coordinated mechanism for addressing the grievances of the affectees.
• Political leadership / representatives are missing and thus causing a huge social and political vacuum. People say that leaders are high on claims but low on delivery.
• Common people still skeptical of the military-militant nexus and view the killing of people such as Sajjad Khan, a district nazim, as target killings of anti-army leaders.
• The army should help restore peoples– confidence by putting politicians and the civilian administration in the forefront. The real political and administrative power still rests with the military and it is about time to empower civilians so that both the confidence and competence could return to the people.
• Media projected the militants out of proportion but has failed in projecting peace after the military operation and restoration of order.
• People are not happy about the ‘free medical camps’ and demand that the civilian administration should take control and exhibit a sense of responsibility by reconstructing the hospitals.
• A number of Swatis also ridicule the ‘open public courts’ that the civilian administration and army officials hold occasionally. The current crisis arose out of the absence of a functional justice system, and they believe the provincial government should have been quick enough to address this issue on an emergency basis.
• Corruption ´ or the inflated cost of construction by government departments. The Executive Education District Officer says a two-room school costs as much as 2.2 million. The military needed just over 100,000 for reconstructing a similar structure.
• Why not rent buildings instead of buying tents to place students of the damaged schools?
• The army should vacate schools it has been occupying for almost a year now. (Earlier militants had used schools for shelter and launching attacks on the army).

Schools:

Between July 2007, when Maulana Fazlullah men began harassing and evicting government and police officials from their work place and established their writ over the valley, and May 2009, when the military began cracking down on the militants and their strongholds, a bout 401 schools got either totally or partially damaged. Today, students of damaged schools learning under tents or under open skies.

Generally, not only is the socio-political rehabilitation looks slow but the restoration of educational institutions has also been very slow, something the government should have addressed on a war-footing.

Unfortunately, only about eight schools are currently under-construction ´ six by the army and two by a non-governmental organization. Local education officials say only 21 of the roughly 131 totally destroyed schools have so far been short-listed for reconstruction, and hoping the tendering process to begin shortly.

‘Peoples– trust in the peace process is still missing,’ Zahid Khan, President Swat Hotels Association. It is missing because the police and the local administration lacks power. How can people get killed if we cannot walk even with a knife?

Restoring the wounded self-respect of the Swatis, seems to be another challenge; the biggest challenge, perhaps, is the rehabilitation of peoples– confidence. Much more important than the physical rehabilitation is the spiritual healing of wounds and the return of the trust that the past nexus between militants and military had considerably eroded. For over two years the militants linked to terrorists in South Waziristan had practically taken much of the valley and begun advocating a repressive version of Islam. This means barring women from work and practically opposing girls– education.