The return of the native to swat (Miangul Aurangzeb)

[LahoreEstate]

Wali of Swat’s homecoming sans family

Monday, October 05, 2009
By Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: The octogenarian ‘Wali of Swat’ and former governor of the NWFP and Balochistan, Miangul Aurangzeb, leaving behind his family in Islamabad, reached the once restive district on Saturday.

He will personally have a round of some important parts of the district prior to giving a green signal to other family members to join him. “Yes, I advised him to stay back, but he left for Swat. Now we have received information that he has reached his destination safe and sound,” said one of his sons, Adnan Aurangzeb, while talking to The News here.

In view of signs of preparations for the final showdown between security forces and militants, Aurangzeb had left the ancestral place with a heavy heart early this year. He was approached by the authorities with warnings that it was not safe to return to Swat his family had ruled for 70 years, but he was not ready to stay back.

The former governor, who still has a wonderful memory, more often than not contributes to the ‘News Post’ (letters to the editor column) of this newspaper.

His son was not sure whether or not it would be safe to go back to Swat as incidents of terrorist attacks were taking place every now and then in different parts of the NWFP. “We are keen to learn from our father how does he now see the state of affairs there,” he said, when asked should his father’s return be interpreted as a sign of sustainable peace in the district, which was a princely state till its dissolution in 1969. Before and after it became the part of Pakistan, it had been a haven for tourists, but it fell a victim to militancy a few years ago.

http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=201632