Where is the development in Swat?

Before becoming PM, Nawaz promised motorway for Swat. Later, I realised that promise was not mentioned in his address.

In his address to the notables and youth of Mingora in Swat on January 15, Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif shrewdly avoided mentioning a promise he had made to the people of Swat and Malakand division long before the elections. His visit was kept so secret that till the evening of the previous day, nobody but a few journalists and army officials based in Swat knew about it. During the visit, PM Sharif, ‘in principle’ approved the establishment of a brigade-level cantonment in Swat. As far as I remember, former president Asif Ali Zardari had approved the establishment of the cantonment as well. The other thing the PM focused on was the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan scheme. One wonders if we, the people of Swat, have no other problems except the lack of a cantonment and the need for a tedious loan scheme for the youth.

Swat is among the most populated districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Majority of the people here are poor, while the local economy has been destroyed by two types of calamities — a deadly insurgency and floods. Tourism is among the major sources of income in Swat, but the industry has been damaged due to the ongoing crises.

The main road to the tourist havens of Kalam, Utror and Ushu does not exist except for a dangerous bumpy track made by the Pakistan Army after repeated floods. Work on a portion of the road is in progress by the National Highway Authority with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank, but there seems to be no funding for the part of the road leading from Bahrain to Kalam.

The only thing in Pakistan, about which one can boast abroad, is the motorway from Lahore to Peshawar. And, indeed, the credit for that goes to Nawaz Sharif. He is said to be focused on the economy and who other than him can know the importance of roads in developing the economy.

Before he became the prime minister, Mr Sharif had promised a motorway for Swat starting from the Rashakai Interchange near Mardan. On the morning of January 15, a friend came to me and wryly announced that Mr Sharif had approved the promised motorway. Later, I realised he was only joking, as there was no mention of that promise in his address to the youth and notables of Swat.

Swat is in dire need of that motorway. The Malakand division is the largest of divisions both in terms of area and population, and the Swat district is the heart of business and trade in the area. The city of Mingora in Swat has more business activity than there is in Mardan. It is only next to Peshawar in its economic vibrancy. In a way, it is also the business hub for Gilgit-Baltistan. Its importance is likely to increase if it is linked with the Karakoram Highway via the district of Shangla.

Moreover, the tourist attractions of Swat need to be linked with mainstream Pakistan through a network of highways or expressways. Swat has seen its worst years of late. It was better off under the rule of the last Wali of Swat, Mian Gul Jahanzeb. We now hardly see any extension or improvement to what the Wali had done in Swat. The schools and hospitals he had established have become dysfunctional over the years owing to the inefficiency and failure of the state of Pakistan.

The people of Swat expected much more from the prime minister during his visit, but the prime minister seems to have failed them.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th,  2014.

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