The lost valley: Swat in pictures (Part 2)

[LahoreEstate]

Once frequented by tourists for its snow-capped mountains, the Swat valley is now rocked by a violent campaign for Sharia law waged by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who has links to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Fazlullah’s followers have blown up at least 173 schools, 105 of them for girls, since security forces launched an operation in the region in 2007. Here’s a look at some of the images that have come out of the Swat Valley in the last six months, presented in chronological order.


KANJU: Residents stand on the rubble of shops and a house damaged in the fighting between the Pakistan army and militants, Nov 18, 2008. AP/Sherin Zada



MINGORA: Local residents visit the office of a cable network provider burned by alleged militants on Nov 21, 2008. Militants had earlier warned cable operators to suspend their operations, terming the service ‘un-Islamic’. AP/Sherin Zada



KABAL: Army troops secure the troubled area of Kabal Khas on the outskirts of Swat, Nov 26, 2008. Militants blew up a bridge earlier in the day in the Sambat area of the valley, police and security officials said. Reuters


UNSPECIFIED: Children walk on the debris of a damaged school building after it was blown up by the Taliban, Jan 19, 2009. Militants blew up four schools hours after a cabinet minister vowed that the government would reopen schools in the violence-plagued valley. Reuters


CHARBAGH: Taliban militants publicly flog an alleged narcotic smuggler, Dec 15, 2008. AP/Sherin Zada



SAIDU SHARIF: Children stand on the rubble of a damaged portion of a government school wrecked by militants with explosives, Jan 17, 2009. Militants had demanded in December that all schools for girls be closed by Jan 15. AP/Sherin Zada