A cops' nightmare
Police recruitment in Swat suffers badly as officials avoid postings in the Valley and the deployed force is demoralised
By Javed Aziz Khan
The situation in most parts of the Frontier and Fata has come to a point where the security forces' personnel have refused to be posted in turbulent towns, even against better salaries and more incentives. A large-scale desertion has been witnessed in Frontier Police and Frontier Constabulary since they became the prime target of terrorist attacks. The situation is worse in Swat where a large number of cops have quit their jobs and published adverts in local newspapers so that the militants would know they are no more fighting against them.

Homeless in homeland
Swati residents who were forced to leave their homes for safer places find themselves running for shelter
By Yousaf Ali
Terrified of the creeping militancy and non-stop military operation, more and more people of Swat have started shifting to down districts to take temporary refuge at their their friends' or relatives' places or in rented houses. Very few have put up at the makeshift relief camps set up by the government. This can be judged from the fact that only about 3000 people were registered in the four relief camps set up at government facilities in down towns such as Balogram and Barikot after the start of the second phase of military operation in July 2008.

Whither accord?
Failure and aftermath of the Swat peace agreement
Ever since last year's May-21 peace deal between the militants and ANP failed, the security situation in Swat district has been deteriorating. The militants operating under the command of Maulana Fazlullah started blowing up schools and bridges. So far, they have bombed or torched 185 schools--122 girls and 63 boys--across the valley and destroyed around 25 bridges. According to official figures, as many as 57,900 students have been deprived of their fundamental right to education.

"We have reservations about the operation"
-- Afrasyab Khattak, Provincial President, ANP; peace envoy to the NWFP government
By Tauseef-ur-Rahman
The News on Sunday: Who are Taliban and what is their agenda in the Swat valley?
Afrasyab Khattak: The extremist insurgency in Swat is not an isolated phenomenon; it is connected with the militancy that has its bases in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). There is a very popular myth about former president, Gen Musharraf, taking an about-turn of sorts. If there was an about-turn, it was a double about-turn because the Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives were allowed to enter Fata and set up bases for fighting from across the border. When the pressure on insurgents increased in southern and eastern Afghanistan, they started expanding their bases to acquire depth on east of Durand line. They had a plan to Talibanise the settled districts. Now it has emerged as a type of a parallel state with Waziristan as its capital. They chose Swat because it is a district situated in the north of the province and away from Waziristan so that it may not look like an expansion of Taliban's Emirate of Waziristan.

"No one can ban jihad"
-- Muslim Khan, a spokesman for Swat militants
By Delawar Jan
The News on Sunday: Why did you pick up arms against the government and its law-enforcement agencies?
Muslim Khan: The White House in Washington knows why we are fighting, but it is lamentable that our own people question our struggle. We want divine law on God's land. We have been fighting for it and will continue to do so until the goal is achieved.

Till Swat became as dangerous as it is, it was difficult to condemn militancy in the country, even if it led to the killing of innocent people in settled areas and big cities of Pakistan. Especially when the likes of Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan did not stop pointing out that this militancy was a consequence of fighting the American war on terror. The bomb attacks in the tribal belt breed terrorism and Pakistan must put a stop to fighting 'their' war, they said. Swat put paid to all their criticism because Swat turned militant without facing a single drone attack.

If one ignores the tragedy unfolding in Swat for a moment, the fact that it has now become hard to justify militancy seems like a positive sign. Beyond this, though, there is nothing else that seems positive in Swat.

The valley now faces a renewed military operation. Because just when people in the rest of the country believed a strong military operation was going on, voices from Swat were heard saying that the military was not doing enough. Reports started to trickle in about how the militants who controlled only 20 percent of the area a few months ago were now in administrative control of 80 percent of Swat.

Swat is full of stories, unpleasant and terrible -- of beheadings, target killings, a ban on girls' education, and the list goes on. Religion is being used to gain political control in what is essentially a power struggle. The stories below are self explanatory, told amid hopes that better sense prevails in the region and these need not be retold.

During the last week, the military operation in Swat has become more focused and intense, apparently as a result of tremendous pressure by the politicians, the civil society and the media. The anti-Taliban Swatis have welcomed the change in the security forces' tactics while the militants are adjusting their strategies to tackle the new challenge to their growing control of the valley.

Three recent military strikes in Ningolai, Matta and Manglawar are being cited as evidence of a change in tactics by the security forces to take the militants head-on. Those critical of the military operation until now felt such surgical strikes were needed to send across a strong message to the Taliban that the army meant business this time. However, villagers and peace activists in these areas are already complaining that most of those killed in the attacks were civilians and not militants as claimed by the spokesmen of the security forces. They alleged that some of the slain villagers were shot dead for curfew violations while trying to shift to safer places.

In particular, the eight deaths in Ningolai village are being mentioned as unwarranted and cruel. The military claimed all eight were militants and that a Taliban commander, Noor Bakhtiar, was among them. But a number of villagers from Ningolai told TNS that Noor Bakhtiar wasn't a Taliban commander and had distanced himself from the militants after joining them for a while and then surrendering to the authorities. The 40-year old Noor Bakhtiar had even been given a letter certifying that he had been cleared of all charges and was free to work and travel. The villagers said he was shot in the head and his face had been blown away. He was apprehended at the security check post in Ningolai and shifted to the village school where the troops were based. His family, which includes his widow, six grown-up daughters and two small sons, weren't shown his disfigured body.

The seven others who were slain included two 30-year olds, Said Ali Khan and Ajab Khan from Charbagh, two class nine students and friends Ejaz and Hazrat Ali from Ningolai, Sher Malook from Badar village in Charbagh area, Mohammad Ayub Khan from Kuza Bandai, and Gul Anbar from Ningolai.

The security forces until now were hesitant to launch big military operations due to the risk of causing civilian deaths in the densely populated Swat valley. Military commanders were also careful to avoid casualties among their troops. The use of gunship helicopters and, in some cases, jet-fighters and long-range artillery and mortar shelling invariably caused "collateral damage" and provoked anger among families that lost members. But it appears that the military was now willing to take greater chances while attempting to eliminate the militants. More cases of shells and bombs falling on unintended civilian targets and killing innocent people are now being reported from villages in Charbagh, Kabal and Matta and fuelling resentment against the government and the security forces.

Some of the "collateral damage" seems unavoidable in the congested villages where the militants often hide and operate. However, an unacceptable level of civilian deaths and damage to property causes resentment and forces some of the affectees to join the Taliban in a bid to avenge their losses. It also makes it difficult for the government, or the military, to pursue an effective policy for winning the hearts and minds of the people.

The Swati Taliban, led by Maulana Fazlullah, not only earned the ire of the government but also lost public support by embarking on a violent agenda. They resorted to target killings of their political opponents and destruction of their property. Many security forces personnel in their custody were beheaded or simply shot dead. Girls' education was banned and schools were destroyed along with other government buildings and bridges. A parallel administration was set up and Shariat courts began summoning wanted people and awarding them punishment. A list of the wanted Swatis was released and all of them were threatened with consequences if they failed to report to Taliban-run Shariat courts. The Taliban FM Radio channels continued their illegal broadcasts and advanced the militants' agenda.

There was no way the government and its security forces would tolerate acts that caused the erosion of the state's writ and extended that of the militants. The military came under fire for failing to defeat the Taliban in Swat and many critics even accused it of colliding with the militants. The ruling parties such as the ANP and PPP also expressed their dissatisfaction over the military operation and their coalition government in the NWFP publicly conveyed its reservations over the direction and thrust of the army's strategy in Swat. Stung by the criticism, the Pakistan Army command ordered acceleration of the military operation and, in some areas, house-to-house search was started to nab those suspected of links to the militants.

The toughening of the government's stand was also evident from statem ents by the Army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, who during a flying visit to Swat pledged to enforce the state's writ, and by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who declared that parallel courts and administration would not be tolerated. Interior affairs adviser Rahman Malik repeated the earlier government stance that dialogue would take place with only those militants who laid down arms. He also predicted regaining control of Swat and flushing out militants in a few weeks' time. With the hardening of posture by the government, the militants too became rigid in their attitude. This would lead to more fighting and bloodshed and the Swat situation would have fallout on the situation in rest of the NWFP and FATA because the Taliban group operating in Swat is part of the Baitullah Mahsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Are we then going to see widening of the conflict in the NWFP and, as a consequence, the further destabilisation of the country?

A cops' nightmare

The situation in most parts of the Frontier and Fata has come to a point where the security forces' personnel have refused to be posted in turbulent towns, even against better salaries and more incentives. A large-scale desertion has been witnessed in Frontier Police and Frontier Constabulary since they became the prime target of terrorist attacks. The situation is worse in Swat where a large number of cops have quit their jobs and published adverts in local newspapers so that the militants would know they are no more fighting against them.

Recruitment in Swat police was announced on many occasions in the past year but very few candidates turned up for jobs. The rest decided not to join till peace is restored in the valley. The government even relaxed the criteria for these jobs but the tactic didn't work.

The most shocking news, however, was the en bloc refusal of about 600 specially trained commandos of the newly set up Elite Police Force (EPF), who said collectively that they would rather be dismissed. The services of these commandos were placed at the disposal of district police officer Swat and they were supposed to join duty in the first week of January. But none of them went to the troubled valley. Parents of the newly trained commandos also refused to send their children to the war-hit region where cops had been slaughtered and strangulated publicly.

Refusal of such a large number of policemen to join duty in Swat puzzled the authorities who later decided to deploy the EPF cops in Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat and Hangu.

"We are not afraid of being killed but we have certain reservations on the role that the police force has been assigned in the region. If we alone are allowed to clear Swat (of terrorists), we are ready," opined a young commando, requesting anonymity.

The cop said that there must be a mechanism of providing ration and other logistics to the EPF cops, like army men, so that none of them will have go to bazaars for shopping and be ambushed.

It may be mentioned here that a large number of policemen and FC personnel were caught by the militants from different trade centres or bus stands. Four cops were brutally murdered in Swat recently. The body of one Gul Islam was mutilated and his face disfigured. The head of another, Javed, was slit with a drill machine while Aziz, a driver, was slaughtered after his family could not arrange the ransom money. Another unidentified cop was also killed last week. Bodies of several policemen were hanged in public places.

Recalling incidents of beheading, an EPF commando told TNS, "None of the culprits have been caught or punished till date. This, obviously, brings the morale of the force down."

Posting in Swat has become a very sensitive issue – something that the officials avoid commenting on. An official of the Frontier Police when approached only said that the government had spent over Rs 10 million on a 4-month training of 1022 cops of the EPF, who would be given Rs 3000 in addition to their salaries.

Interestingly, the establishment of the EPF has not yet been formally sanctioned. Though, the NWFP chief minister has approved the setting up of the Elite Force, comprising 2500 commandos, as a special case. Special training has been given to 1022 cops by army men at the Punjab Regimental Centre in Mardan while 521 others were trained at Karachi. Besides, the entire police force is being given five-week Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) training to equip them with techniques of fighting terrorism. A contingent of over 500 cops who are training in Karachi will return in March this year after which they will be deployed in different parts of the troubled valley.

The 82-year old Mohammad Afzal Khan has emerged as a hero in Swat and beyond, to those who oppose the Taliban ideology. At a time when almost every politician and landlord, known as Khans, has moved out (of Swat) to escape harm at the hands of the militants, Afzal Khan has refused to leave his village, Bara Drushkhela, located in the Taliban stronghold of Matta. He has politely declined requests from relatives, his political colleagues from the Awami National Party (ANP) and well wishers to abandon Swat.

The militants have attacked his house a few times. He was injured in a roadside ambush in which his two bodyguards were killed and his nephew and Matta tehsil Nazim Abdul Jabbar Khan were wounded. His two other nephews were killed in another attack by militants, who have repeatedly threatened to eliminate Afzal Khan.

The News on Sunday: President Asif Ali Zardari recently phoned you and praised your courage while the Army chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, arranged for you to be flown in a military helicopter to the Frontier Constabulary centre at Kanju in Swat for a meeting. What transpired in the President's phone call and your meeting with Kayani? Do you think the military's new operations in Swat are more focused and targeted?

Mohammad Afzal Khan: The President offered support in the battle against militants. General Kayani invited me for a meeting to offer consolation and backing and discuss the Swat situation. It was my first meeting with the General and I found him a sober, sincere and determined man. For the first time in the last two years of military operations in Swat have I found the security forces to be on the offensive. In the past, the Taliban were on the offensive and the troops were on the defensive. The three military strikes in Manglawar, Ningolai, Charbagh and Matta in which the army claimed to have killed several militants were focused and intense.

TNS: You have been seeking support of the government and the forces to arm the people and raise village militias to defend their villages against the Taliban. Do you think the authorities would now accept your proposal? Will this initiative succeed or trigger further clashes between the militants and villagers?

MAK: I made this proposal about 10 months ago but nobody in the government responded positively. My plea is that the people of Swat are mostly unarmed and are, therefore, at the mercy of the militants. Besides, the Swatis have lived under authoritarian rulers in the past and become somewhat subdued. The fear of the Taliban who terrorise the population through beheadings and target killings has snuffed the life out of our people. They need support so that their spirit could be revived. Moreover, the army cannot guard every village and street after having carried out military action and defeated the militants. In the absence of an effective police force and lack of the civil armed forces, the local people would be required to defend their towns and villagers and keep the Taliban at bay. For this purpose, the government must arm and equip them to fight the militants.

TNS: Many people in Swat and outside the valley were critical of the military until now for not doing enough to defeat the Taliban. What do you think was lacking in the military operation against the militants?

MAK: Once an army officer reportedly said that the military should not take sides in the conflict in Swat. I wondered why such a statement was made. The military has to take sides as the government writ has been challenged by a group of militants who want to set up a parallel administration and impose their will on the people. They are using heavy arms and strongarm methods to extend their writ at a time when the law-enforcement agencies in Swat are paralysed and the civil armed forces are nowhere to be seen. It is a battle between the state and the Taliban. The state in such circumstances must stand with those people who are refusing to bow before Taliban and offering sacrifices while resisting the militants. The military is now changing its tactics and is ready to fight back and stand with the people who are willing to die fighting the Taliban.

TNS: Your name tops the list of the 47 men wanted by the Taliban in Swat. You have been ordered to appear before their Shariat courts. Comment.

MAK: I have done nothing wrong and am at a loss to understand why am I being targeted. I am also very religious. And so is my family. However, we don't accept the Taliban interpretation of Islam.

TNS: Why did your party leaders not consult you before inking a peace deal with Taliban in Swat? Is Asfandyar Wali Khan or NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti in touch with you now on the issue?

MAK: The peace accord was signed in a hurry and the ANP leadership and the provincial government agreed to certain measures that were beyond its powers. Military officials have been complaining that the peace accord emboldened the militants and gave them time to regroup for fighting fresh battles. The peace agreement was doomed when the Taliban started destroying schools and their spokesman, Muslim Khan, claimed responsibility for these attacks. Strangely, the provincial government was defending the agreement and claiming that the militants weren't involved in the attacks on schools. However, I don't want to create difficulties for ANP. In any case, one political party cannot resolve the entire problem. I don't complain that Asfandyar Wali hasn't phoned me because he has been ill. As for the chief minister, I was told he called but was unable to locate me.

Terrified of the creeping militancy and non-stop military operation, more and more people of Swat have started shifting to down districts to take temporary refuge at their their friends' or relatives' places or in rented houses. Very few have put up at the makeshift relief camps set up by the government. This can be judged from the fact that only about 3000 people were registered in the four relief camps set up at government facilities in down towns such as Balogram and Barikot after the start of the second phase of military operation in July 2008.

According to a rough estimate, half a million of the total 1.5 million population of the district have left their hometowns. Some two hundred thousands have shifted to the main town of district Mingora which is safer than Kabal sub-division, Matta, Charbagh, Khwazakhela and others, while about 1,20,000 people have shifted to down districts such as Mardan and Charsadda.

Today, one can find migrants from Swat in every town and hamlet in Mardan and other districts, looking still for temporary residence. The thoughts and observations of these people are almost the same. They do not distinguish between the security forces and the militants. For them the victims are the common, innocent people of Swat. They believe that both the parties brought destruction to their peaceful, tourist-loving valley.

Mohammad Kamal, a resident of Matta town, who along with his other family members has taken shelter at his relatives' place in Takhtbai town of Mardan district, told TNS that the militants' activities and indiscriminate shelling by the security forces had forced them to flee, but the government offered no alternative arrangement in safer districts.

These people are convinced that it is not easy to restore complete normalcy in their parts of the Valley. It will certainly take time. "However, if the government halts the operation, we will be able to return to our homes," says Karim Khan, a resident of Kanjo town.

The activities of the militants, particularly the ruthless ones like slaughtering and exhuming corpses and hanging them in public, has scared the people even in the comparatively safer areas of the district. Jameel Khan, a government servant hailing from Balogram village, who recently shifted his family to Charsadda district, says that their area was safe till one night Taliban raided it. "They passed through the rooftop of my room that was located at the foot of a hill," he says. "I was terrified. I thought they were going to capture us. After a while, we heard the sound of a heavy shoot-out. The next morning, we got to know that they were after a group of hired assassins who lived close to our place. All of them had been killed."

The people of the province in general and those hailing from Swat in particular are deeply concerned over the heart-rending situation of the picturesque valley. They are of the opinion that the government should expedite the operation and make it more target-oriented. And, till the completion of the operation, proper arrangements should be made for temporary accommodation of the displaced lot. They say that they should be given at least proper healthcare and educational facilities, as the schools in the down districts are not offering admissions to their children whose time is being wasted.

Ever since last year's May-21 peace deal between the militants and ANP failed, the security situation in Swat district has been deteriorating. The militants operating under the command of Maulana Fazlullah started blowing up schools and bridges. So far, they have bombed or torched 185 schools--122 girls and 63 boys--across the valley and destroyed around 25 bridges. According to official figures, as many as 57,900 students have been deprived of their fundamental right to education.

The militants' decision in December last to ban female education from Jan 15, 2009, with bombing as a consequence of defiance, shocked everyone. Around 40,000 girls of private schools and 84,248 of the state-run schools would be affected by the militants' threat. The central spokesman of the banned outfit TTP, Maulvi Omar, was also shocked and he promised to use his 'good office' to press upon the Swat Taliban to withdraw the decision. But they are still sticking to their guns.

Till date, the militants have carried out 10 suicide attacks against the security forces, killing and maiming hundreds of people. The military launched a full-scale operation in their strongholds--Koza Bandai, Bara Bandai, Ningwalai, Kabal village, Shakardara, Alamganj, Khwazakhela, Peuchar and others. For the first time since the inception of the military operation, the forces used jetfighters along with gunship helicopters. They claimed having cleared several strongholds of the militants, but this proved otherwise. The months-long military action in the second phase of the 'Rah-i-Haq' (or Righteous path) did not produce the desired results, as the top leadership remained unharmed. The military claimed to have killed 784 militants and admitted having suffered more than 180 casualties in the battle.

Despite repeated pledges by the military to root out militants, the latter's influence extended to other areas of the valley besides the neighbouring districts. Gradually, they gained more territory from Madyan to Barikot and Mingora.

In the last and first weeks of December and January respectively, the emboldened militants launched activities in Mingora. Hanging bodies after target-killings and slitting throats were the order of the day. Around 30 bodies were hung from trees and poles at the Grain-turned-Green Chowk, which petrified the local population, forcing them to leave the valley. The security forces were severely criticised for not coming to the rescue of people under attack from the militants and the growing power of the insurgents.

The militants issued a list of 47 wanted persons including former and incumbent ministers, MNAs, MPAs, nazims and others, summoning them before the Taliban courts to clear their position or face the music.

Today, the situation is out of control in the valley. The NWFP Assembly passed a resolution asking the forces to make the operation more effective and result-oriented.

-- Delawar Jan

Who's who

The Taliban set-up in Swat is an offshoot of the Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi (TNSM), which was founded by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, the aged former Jamaat-i-Islami man from Lower Dir district, as part of his struggle to enforce Shariah in the Malakand region. The Swati Taliban are more intolerant and radical than their comrades elsewhere in the NWFP and control large parts of Swat with their strongholds in Matta, Kabal and Charbagh tehsils. They have set up their own Shariat Courts, prisons and parallel administration. They use their three FM radio channels to propagate ideas, announce decisions and give their version of day-today events.

Some of the leading Taliban figures who have lost their lives in military operations to date include commanders Khan Khitab and Hussain Ali alias Tor Mullah. Also killed was Ali Bakht, who led the Taliban negotiating team that held talks with the ANP-PPP coalition government and concluded their May 21 peace accord. He died fighting the security forces in his village, Deolai. Another Taliban political and religious figure killed in military operations was Saeedur Rahman, who headed the group's Shariat Court in Matta area. The Taliban judges in their Shariat courts are known as Muftis and they enjoy wide powers while deciding disputes among the litigants, awarding punishment to those arrested by the militants, and advising the Taliban shura on Islamic aspects of every issue.

Listed below are profiles of top Taliban leaders in Swat. It is worth mentioning that some Taliban religious figures, including one hailing from Upper Dir district, sit on the Shariat courts setup in Swat and are fairly important in terms of the Taliban decision-making mechanism. Their names aren't listed here.

MAULANA FAZLULLAH: The 33-year old is the leader of the Taliban in Swat and son-in-law of the TNSM founder, Maulana Sufi Mohammad. His real name is Fazal Hayat and he belongs to Mamdheray, a village located near Mingora, across the river Swat, and renamed by him as Imam Dheray. He studied at his father-in-law's madrassa in Lal Qila in Maidan area of Lower Dir district. He fought in Afghanistan against the US and Northern Alliance forces alongside the Taliban when he accompanied Maulana Sufi Mohammad and around 10,000 of his followers following the American invasion in October 2001. Following the collapse of Taliban regime in Afghanistan, he and his father-in-law, along with some of his men, returned to Pakistan where they were arrested and jailed in the Dera Ismail Khan prison in southern NWFP. After about three years of imprisonment, he was released. He began organising the militants upon his return to Swat, using his FM Radio to spread his message and influence and collecting donations to build a huge mosque and madrassa complex in his village. Presently, he is said to be hiding somewhere in the Peochar and Namal valleys and leading the Taliban in the fight against Pakistan's security forces.

MAULANA SHAH

DAURAN: Hailing from Qambar village where he ran a madrassa, Shah Dauran is the deputy leader of the Swati Taliban and a hawk in terms of his religious and political views. Previous reports, some leaked by the government, about his death in combat proved untrue. He has a regular radio show on the FM Radio and his harsh pronouncements against anti-Taliban forces have been spreading fear and revulsion. Recently, he was shifted from the FM Radio channel meant for lower parts of Swat to the one broadcasting in the remote and upper reaches of the mountainous valley.

SIRAJUDDIN: A cousin of Maulana Fazlullah and a resident of Mamdheray, he was an active member of the Democratic Students Federation (DSF), a leftist group of progressive students, in his college days. Now he is a hardline Islamist willing to die for the Taliban cause. He was assigned to coordinate Taliban military operations in the Manglawar, Malam Jabba and Charbagh areas.

MUSLIM KHAN: He is the spokesman of the Swati Taliban. He took over the job from Maulana Fazlullah's cousin, Sirajuddin. Muslim Khan, belonging to Kuza Bandai village in Kabal tehsil, was once a PPP worker. He also spent four years in the US earning his livelihood. Apart from Pashto and Urdu, he also speaks English. He is among the hardliners in the group.

SAID RAHMAN ALIAS FATEH: He replaced Hussain Ali alias Tor Mullah as the top Taliban military commander following the former's death in an attack on the mountain-top military post at Sarbanda. The former madrassa student is now responsible for organising military operations not only in Matta tehsil but also in other parts of Swat.

IBNE AMIN: A young Taliban commander who has spread terror in the Matta area through his tough action and harsh punishment of anyone daring to challenge the militants. His brother Ibne Aqil, too, has emerged as a local commander in the Shwar, Namal and Gat-Peochar areas.

GHAZNAVI: Whatever his real name, Ghaznavi is a former student of a madrassa in Karachi. He is among those Taliban commanders who are assigned special missions.

AKBAR HUSSAIN: He is the Taliban commander for Kabal tehsil. He has taken part in many battles against the security forces and is still entrenched somewhere in the Kabal area. He received a huge welcome when he returned to his village after the May 21 peace accord with the provincial government.

MOHAMMAD ALAM KHAN: He is commonly known as Binoray Mulla because he was the Imam of a mosque in Binoray village near Khwazakhela and was appointed 'governor' of the area when Taliban occupied most of Swat valley before the launching of military operations. Recently, he was assigned to make speeches on the Taliban FM Radio in lower Swat in place of Maulana Shah Dauran. In his first radio show, he mentioned his name as Khalil but most Swatis believe he is none else but Mohammad Alam Khan alias Binoray Mulla.

The News on Sunday: Why did you pick up arms against the government and its law-enforcement agencies?

Muslim Khan: The White House in Washington knows why we are fighting, but it is lamentable that our own people question our struggle. We want divine law on God's land. We have been fighting for it and will continue to do so until the goal is achieved.

TNS: You have been demanding the enforcement of Shariah but have you prepared any draft that could be proposed to the government for implementation of such a law?

MK: Maulana Sufi Muhammad has proposed a draft on which all Ullema have a consensus. If that is implemented, we will show the world what peace is.

TNS: If Sufi agrees to any formula on Shariah implementation, will you put an end to your armed struggle?

MK: One cannot place a ban on jihad. But, yes, we can assure that at least we will stop our activities here (in Swat).

TNS: Sufi is not in favour of any role or position in a Shariah set-up and leaves it to the government to manage the (Shariah) system. Is it your stance, too?

MK: We are in agreement with Sufi as far as the enforcement of Shariah is concerned, but we may have disagreements over the issue of how to implement it.

TNS: Do you think you have the support of the people?

MK: It is not the question of people being with us or against us. People are in favour of Shariah and that is what we have been fighting for.

TNS: The government says that the Swat Taliban are not independent in making decisions and are dictated by the tribal areas-based leadership of the TTP which is why the May 21, 2008, peace agreement failed. Are you ready to part ways with the TTP?

MK: TTP is an alliance of Mujahideen against the cruel policies of America and Pakistan. We will continue on, whether it is in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Palestine (he didn't mention the US). There is no question of withdrawing from the TTP.

TNS: The government accuses the Swati Taliban of breaking the May 21 deal at the behest of the non-Swati Taliban. What is the reason for the failure of the deal, in your view?

MK: We had four demands--the enforcement of Shariah, the withdrawal of army, the release of Taliban prisoners, and the compensation for damages suffered by the people--as part of the agreement. But, will the NWFP government tell us how much headway it has made on all these demands? It could not stick to the deal, as the ruling party was once playing into the hands of Russia and now the US.

TNS: Taliban recently issued a list of 'wanted' persons. What was the exact number of people on the list and what is the purpose of issuing such a list?

MK: There are 45 people and their family members--some 86 people in total--who are wanted to us for their opposition to the Taliban movement. We want to give them a chance to clear themselves before the Shariat court.

TNS: Presently, how many Taliban courts are operative?

MK: These are not courts but forums for settling people's disputes. At present, we have 40 such forums in different villages.

TNS: How many security forces personnel do you have in your custody?

MK: We had 11 personnel. All of them have been executed to avenge the killing of our arrested fellows.

TNS: Why did you ban girls' education?

MK: The ban will remain intact till the implementation of Shariah. No discussion on the issue anymore.

TNS: How many fighters do you have?

MK: I don't know the exact figure but I can tell you that more and more people are approaching us for enrolment (as fighters).

TNS: The government accuses you of weakening Pakistan by carrying out militant activities. What is your take on that?

MK: We are not weakening Pakistan. We are ready to have a debate.