Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the Swat Valley in early October to express their frustration. The inhabitants of this mountainous region were protesting against the increase in militia attacks in recent months. A few days earlier, a school bus had been targeted, the driver had been killed and two children injured, recalls Dawn in his investigation.
This is not the first time that the inhabitants of this region have sounded the alarm. For months, they have been trying to warn of the resurgence of the Taliban of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned armed group.
painful memories
The Pakistani Taliban are distinct from the Afghan Taliban but they share a common ideology and maintain ties. If they had disappeared from the region after 2014 and intense army operations, they were galvanized by the coming to power of the Taliban in Kabul in August 2021.
“Memories of the period before the military operation – when schools were forced to close, men and women whipped and bodies dumped in the main squares […] – are still fresh in the minds of the residents, who want at all costs to prevent this from happening again”, writes the English-speaking Pakistani daily.
Fragile peace process
How did the Pakistani Taliban return to the Swat Valley? “No one can say for sure”, regret Dawn. The return of members of the TTP, who had taken refuge in Afghanistan, is one of the points of discussion between them and the Pakistani government. These negotiations are taking place in Kabul, Afghanistan, but for the moment no agreement has been reached.
“Some members of the TTP might have been allowed to return as a gesture of goodwill and a confidence-building measure to move the fragile peace process forward.” But now some officials believe that the men of the TTP have returned with arms drawn.
Afghanistan as a rear base?
While Pakistan has consistently demanded that the Afghan Taliban ensure that their territory is not used as a rear base to plot attacks in Pakistan, “they seem to be in denial, which poses a new challenge to Pakistan”.
The State and the security services must take their responsibility before it is too late, believes Dawn. Because it is clear that the Taliban of the TTP will extend their activities to other regions of the country.