Post Afghanistan, militants come home to roost

Swat had to face the brunt of militants who came back from their jihad in Afghanistan.

SWAT:

The United States’ invasion of Afghanistan, following the 9/11 attack, served as a magnet for religious groups in tribal areas.

A 10,000-strong volunteer force, led by Maulana Sufi Mohammad in Malakand Division, marched over to Afghanistan to fight to US forces. Majority of the lashkar was killed; some were arrested while the remaining, once they returned home, considered themselves to be soldiers of Islam.

The remaining force, later on, joined the Mullah Fazlullah-led Taliban group and challenged the writ of the government, leading a large scale insurgency in the Malakand Division, particularly in the Swat valley.

“9/11 directly strengthened the militancy movements in Malakand Division. They went on to conduct anti-state activities because they considered US as an enemy of Muslims and Pakistan, being a strong ally of the US in war against terror, became a direct target of those terrorist groups,” said Niaz Ahmad Khan, a local journalist of Swat.

“In revenge, they not only targeted security forces but also government and civil buildings, and schools, on large scale,” he added.

“Militants, trained in Afghanistan to wage Jihad against invading US forces, came back to Malakand and resumed their activities here,” said Fazal Rahman, a political activist of Swat.

The Pashtun belt, particularly, has been affected in the aftermath of 9/11, he adds.

The impact, he says, is manifested in the form of destroyed schools, roads and infrastructure, throughout the region.

Not all are convinced, however.

Jamaate Islami Nayeb Ameer Sairaj ul Haq insists 9/11 was ‘orchestrated’ to pave they way for attacking Afghanistan, and the Muslim world.

It was a pretext to capture oil, gas and mineral resources of Muslim world, he insists.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th,  2011.