Pakistan’s military operation in Swat Valley has been a success and Taliban have been reduced to few hundreds. But peace and normal life is still elusive in this picturesque valley. There is strong presence of military on the streets. And this is not enough, now even civilians are joining local village militias to protect themselves.
In [...]

Kalam in Pakistan’s Swat valley used to be known as the Switzerland of Pakistan. With its pine forests, snow-capped mountains, cool ravines, mountain-trekking, lots of fishing, and the rainbow trout, the place was once the ‘jewel of the country’s tourism industry.’ It had hotels with names such as Heaven Side and Diamond Hills.
Very recently, Taliban militants that had [...]

There have been several news in the recent months about US drone attacks against Muslim extremists in Pakistan that have incurred civilian casualties. These attacks, however, have been successful in neutralizing the radicals, as the Pakistani army and its allies have taken back the Swat valley from the Taliban resistance. Fighting has now moved to [...]

Pakistan’s offensive to eradicate the Taliban has brought about approximately 2 million refugees who fled the fighting in the northwest of the country. The Pakistani government has reminded potential international aid donors that the Taliban might take advantage of other countries’ failure to help. Some countries have already pledged $224 million in aid, including the [...]

For the hundreds of thousands displaced by the fighting in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, there has been very little actual assistance from both international NGOs and the Pakistani government itself. The numbers are mind-boggling: 200,000 additional internally displaced persons (IDPs) pouring in everyday into refugee camps.
Pakistani military forces are deep in battle [...]

This Saturday, the Pakistani army was able to enter Mingora, the main town of the Swat valley in the northwest. Confrontations with the Taliban militants continue. According to a spokesman for the army, Major General Athar Abbas, the insurgents were driven from several quarters, and 17 rebels, including an important commander, were killed over the [...]

While Pakistan is besieged by Islamist militant threat, corrupt government, and grinding poverty in most places, a group of middle-class teenagers organized themselves via Facebook, pick up their shovels, and clean up city garbage every Sunday.
Students from elite private schools, they opt not to laze around in their comfortable homes during weekend and instead act [...]

The number of internally displaced people in Pakistan is now two million of which more than 1,400,000 have been recorded in the last two weeks, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It has been ‘such a massive shift in such a short period of time,’ according to the office.
UNHCR data [...]

Pakistan military is finally showing its commitment to fight militancy. Pushed by US and advancing Taliban, Pakistan security forces have finally launched attacks in Mingora, the main town in Swat. More than 64 Taliban militants have been killed in the encounter.
Swat Valley had been taken over by Taliban for quite sometime but once peace talks [...]

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has signed a peace agreement that regional authorities had negotiated with the Taliban insurgency in the Swat Valley. The accord involves the implementation of the Sharia or Islamic law. The head of state ratified the pact shortly after the Pakistani parliament passed a resolution endorsing the agreement. Zardari had avoided [...]