What is Swat all about? Featured

It is generally perceived that the rulers of Swat imposed Shari’a in Swat but it is not true. In the days when Swat was a state there was no rule of law. It was a ‘law of choice’. It is indeed this speedy and cheap administration of justice that most of Swatis cherish to have again 

The scenic valley in the North West frontier province (Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa) of Pakistan used to be known for its center of the Ghandara, Turk Shahi, Hindu Shahi and Pathan civilizations. Due to its overwhelming natural beauty the valley is also referred as the Switzerland of the East. In yesteryears it was a seat of the Buddhist civilization which is to date reminiscent in the forms of ruins and stupas scattered in the plain areas of the valley. Pilgrims and tourists from China, Central Asia and India used to come to the valley. Alexander’s army also attacked Swat and made its way to Indus through the valley.

Swat’s ancient history is found in the chronicles of the pilgrims, tourists and the warriors. Even a short summary of the diverse and rich history of Swat requires books to be covered. In this article, however, the recent State Era and what happened after that, is given.

The people of Swat were ruled by benevolent dictators from 1917 till 1969, when the State of Swat was emerged with the mainstream Pakistan. The ruler of Swat was called Wali. Before the state there were small units of power and lawlessness “Yaghistan” prevailing but the people were both religiously and politically trained by the Akhund of Swat (Saint of Swat) with the name of Miangul Abdul Ghafoor. He tried to bind the Yusafzais of Swat (a major Pukhtun tribe) under a unifying code and resolved many feuds among them. Abdul Ghafoor’s piety had earned much respect and fame for him. The people came to him and selected him as the spiritual and political head of Swat. But a regular State was formed in 1917 when the people of Swat gathered in a ground and signed a social contract. The people chose Miangul Abdul Wadood, the grandson of the Akhund of Swat, as their ruler. But it was until May 1926 that the British government of India recognized him as the ruler of Swat. He was known as Badshah Sahib. The Badshah and later his son, the Wali, maintained their rule by keeping a balance between two Dellas (factions). They always maintained a balance of power by using these Dellas or parties.

In the state era there arose no religious or otherwise insurgencies except a failed one by the Sandakai Mullah who had constituted his Shariat courts in upper Swat, Matta. The then state ruler did not succumb to his threats. He just sent his man to convey the message to the mullah that Badshah Sahib wanted to kill him. The mullah took the message seriously and fled to Indus Kohistan.

It is generally perceived that the rulers of Swat imposed Shari’a in Swat but it is not true. In the days when Swat was a state there was no rule of law. It was a ‘law of choice’. It was up to the parties concerned whether they wanted to be tried under Shariat law or ordinary law. Under the ordinary law, punishments were different for different tribes. This was according to the will of the people. But when the parties favored Shariat law, there was no room for compromise. And whatever the circumstances, the Shariat law was applied rigidly. Administration of justice was very speedy and the state ruler was there to oversee the process himself. It is indeed this speedy and cheap administration of justice that most of Swatis cherish to have again.

During the state rule Swat was developed rapidly. Education in Swat was better than the North West frontier province. There were roads to every village and a network of primary and high schools was prevalent in the whole valley. The state products were not allowed to sell outside hence no price hike but abundance of everything. The educated Wali was moderate enough to educate and feed everybody.

Thus peace and some prosperity were prevailing in the valley until 1969 when Swat was ‘annexed’ by the state of Pakistan. After the merger in 1969, the people of Swat were subjected to Pakistan’s own tribal justice under the infamous PATA law and a dysfunctional and diabolic governance system adept with pervasive corruption and inefficiency. The system deteriorated with the passage of time; and consequently frustration among the people grew.

The situation thus worsened because the people of Swat were no more isolated from rest of the world. Many youth from Swat were working in Middle East, Europe, US and other countries. When they came back home they had different stories to tell about the system in their work countries. This added to the frustration and urge for change.

In 1980s few lawyers of Swat submitted a petition against the PATA regulations at Peshawar High Court which gave its verdict in favor of the petition in February 1990 creating a vacuum in the valley. The then government went to Supreme Court of Pakistan against the verdict but the latter validated the Peshawar High Court judgment.

This chaos was exploited by Sufi Muhammad, a fanatic Mullah of Jamaat-e-Islami who had defected his party meanwhile. Sufi belonged to the neighboring district of Dir. He started an agitation under the banner of his own religious party TNSM or “Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi” i.e. Movement for the Enforcement of Muhammad’s Shari’a. Soon the movement got an impetus in the whole Malakand Division, particularly in Swat. By the time the Supreme Court declared the PATA regulation ultra vires, Sufi’s movement became so powerful that it brought the entire administration of Malakand Division to a standstill in 1994, demanding the imposition of Shari’a in the whole Malakand Division.

With little exposure to mainstream politics the people of Swat were swayed by the Sufi’s movement because it promised a speedy justice for the people. Sufi Muhammad would call his followers to demand for the Islamic Shari’a in summers. In May 1994, Sufi Mohammad started an armed agitation with about 4000 followers and blocked the main trunk road at the Malakand Pass. Sufi announced his Shari’a and his followers began to start courts. Their first order was to ban all music and the traffic would take the right side. The TNSM captured the Saidu Sharif airport and began to administer justice in the whole valley. The then PPP led government regained the airport after a fierce battle. The government capitulated to Sufi’s demands and imposed Shari’a courts in the district.

Thus satisfied Sufi Muhammad took the responsibility to go for Jihad against the US forces in Afghanistan in 2002 with a regiment of 8000 Jehadists but on his way back to Pakistan after losing almost all his men in the mission Sufi Mohammad was arrested by the Pakistan government. In 2002 alliance of the 6 religious parties, MMA, swept election in Swat and was able to form a government in the province. 

While Sufi Muhammad was in jail his son-in-law, a young fanatic cleric with the name of Maulana Fazlullah aka FM Mullah for his using a FM radio to give religious sermons, filled the vacuum. The Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) event in Islamabad by the Musharraf government fueled the fire further and the FM Mullah started his sermons against the government and the state. It is interesting that the then MMA government which was in an implicit alliance with the military government of Musharraf did not deem any action against the rinsing of Maulana Fazalullah who got support from the people nearby and from the civil administration of the district as well. Affairs were thus changing the face and future of Swat and the government and the state powerful institutions pretended deaf and dumb.

Many Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives from the tribal areas, Punjab and the Central Asian Republics began to pour in Swat. At last in 2007 the Swat Taliban, were able to rule Swat. Swat was virtually under the writ of the Taliban. The government then decided to launch a military offensive against the insurgency but the offensives were ineffective because they were never meant to. Atrocities by the Taliban against the police forces, political figures, liberal elements and women began to increase day by day.

Swat was under this brutal rule for almost two years. People were slaughtered and the dead bodies were strung over the electric poles at the main squares of the big cities in Swat.

Amidst this situation the ‘hapless’ government signed a peace deal with the militants in February 2009 with the ‘mediation’ of Sufi Muhammad whom the government had released with honor for the purpose. The deal was in reality a capitulation of the government to the Taliban. This deal emboldened the Taliban and they spread their rule to the adjacent districts of Buner and Dir. The militants publicly punished the people, especially the women.

The deal made Sufi Muhammad the hero and hope for the future of Swat. The militants roamed under his leadership. The liberal people saw all this with much resentment. The peace proved very fragile and broke with the venomous speech of Sufi Muhammad to a gathering of thousands of people in Mingora. In his speech he declared the Supreme Court and the Constitution of Pakistan as un-islamic and called the people to reject them. It was the dénouement of the drama at the cost of hundreds of lives, schools, property, livelihood and infrastructure.

The government launched another military offensive in the first week of May 2009. The people of Swat fled the war and this was the greatest exodus in history which rendered over 2 million people displaced.

Since then the military operation has been going on in Swat. There is now, a little condolence for peace but most of the people term it as borrowed for they see no lasting solution to the issue.

Like every long stay of military anywhere in the world creates resentment among the people similar is the case of Swat. People have lost everything in order to buy a lasting peace where they would see none with a gun-neither militants nor military. Their hopes are yet to crystallize.