Taliban forces advance across 'valley of terror'

It was routinely vaunted as the "Switzerland of Asia". A plush region of mountains, dense forests and shimmering azure rivers. For years it was favoured as a choice holiday destination for Pakistan's middle classes.

Now, a year after the Pakistani military launched a campaign here to halt a Taliban insurgency, officials fear that four-fifths of the state has slipped from their control. While the world's attention has been fixed on the counter-insurgency operations in the volatile tribal areas along the Afghan border, the forces loyal to local Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah have swiftly advanced across Swat Valley, beheading opponents and torching homes and schools as they enforce their brutal brand of Islamic law.

[ ... ]

In the bazaar there is little enthusiasm for the Taliban. But some find its offer of swift but brutal justice appealing. By targeting the wealthy, residents say, the Taliban won support from the poor. Young, unemployed men have found status as local commanders with large salaries, from Mr Fazlullah's mysteriously deep pockets. Others were enlisted at gunpoint.

The army is struggling to contain the militants or win over the local population. A recent attempt to raise a tribal militia to counter the Taliban failed last week after the militants kidnapped its members and killed 12 of them, hanging their bodies in public.

~ more... ~