Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Swat



A female resident the Swat area of Pakistan told American special envoy, Richard C. Holbrooke, her husband was murdered by the Taliban. Last year, 162 girl schools in Swat were destroyed by the Taliban. The messege is Pakistani women are not allowed an education. The Taliban will bomb or burn the cchool to achieve receive complete female submission.

The North-West Frontier Province has experienced similar violence. Yasmeen Hassan, Equality Now's Deputy Director of Programs details the suffering endured by women.


“The attacks and threats have not been confined to schoolgirls. Women and girls have been ordered to wear full veils. Directives have been issued requiring that women be accompanied by male family members in public places and forbidding women from carrying compulsory government identification cards displaying their photographs. About a dozen women have been shot for "immoral activities," including Bakht Zeba, a 45-year-old social worker committed to advancing girls' education.”


The Pakistan military has lost control of Swat. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder reports the Taliban is the unofficial government of the area. The Taliban has decapitated the heads of policemen. Residents are fleeing for relief camps.

Swat has long had jihadist elements. In 2001, Sufi Muhammad Khan led 10,000 followers out of Swat to fight NATO troops invading Afghanistan. His son-in-law, Maulana Fazalullah, went on a campaign against young girls going to school. Today Fazalullah is the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. He is engaged in a war with the Pakistani military.

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3 Comments:

At February 12, 2009 11:52 PM , Blogger The Donkey said...

I read this post and the links several times. What would you do about the situation? Who would you like to control the valley? The civilians left in the area will suffer as the Pakistan military tries to gain more territory.

 
At February 14, 2009 12:30 AM , Blogger The Donkey said...

No matter who controls the teritory, many will die, more will be oppressed.

http://secure.wikileaks.org/wiki/Unconventional_Warfare_in_the_21st_century_:_US_surrogates%2C_terrorists_and_narcotrafficers

 
At February 14, 2009 12:32 AM , Blogger The Donkey said...

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