Today in the Swat Valley within 100 miles of the Pakistani capital city of Islamabad, at least 41 people were killed. Today’s incident came as the Taliban claimed responsibility for a separate weekend attack on a Pakistani army facility that killed dozens more.

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Now, Pakistan is trying to re-open the schools before winter. Kamal Hyder of Worldfocus partner Al Jazeera English reports from Pakistan.

Beards were mandated in Swat Valley under Taliban rule.

Residents of Pakistan’s Swat Valley are readjusting to life after the end of Taliban rule, nearly three months after Pakistan retook the area with a military offensive.

Under Taliban rule, barbers were banned from shaving off beards. As a Worldfocus contributor writes, that rule is no longer in effect — but having a beard is still not a matter of choice.

Phyza Jameel is a Pakistani journalist and the bureau chief of CNBC-Pakistan in Lahore, writing at the “Frontline Blog.”

“He has an appointment with you; he has come from Swat,” my assistant informed me. I was confused; I had a meeting scheduled with Sarmad Behzaad, one of my dedicated news sources from the Swat region.

“Send him in,” I told my assistant. He sat down and started with the usual polite greetings in the Swati Urdu accent. This was Sarmad. “My God,” I said, “You look so different.”

I had met Sarmad some six months back. Then, a cluster of thick hair hung on his face, a beard from which it was difficult to locate his mouth and nose. “How did this happen?” I asked.

Sarmad smirked and said, “We had been forced to grow beards because of the strong Taliban influence. All the barbershops were closed and clean-shaven men were intimidated by them, so we all had to grow beards.”

“Did you shave when the Taliban left?” I asked.

“No, it wasn’t that the Taliban went away and we shaved — actually we were now used to it — but recently, having a beard has become more of a problem. Now that the security forces have taken control, they are suspecting every bearded man as being part of the Taliban. It was so much hassle that I had to let it go.”

Back in the spring, Swat was one of the most affluent places of the entire northern region. Since it was a popular tourist destination, the people had more interaction and in general were more cosmopolitan.

People in Swat were more advanced in terms of education and business. But during the time of Taliban control, the people of Swat had to obey absurd regulations in the name of Islam. Taliban banned men from wearing pants as well as from shaving their beard and moustache. Barbershops were closed and barbers were threatened and ordered not to shave any man labelling it as “haraam.”

According to Sarmad, during the Taliban period it was hard to find any clean-shaven men. Since the military operation has been completed, 80 percent of the men are now clean-shaven in Swat and the surrounding area.

As Sarmad states, “ To keep a beard or not to keep beard — it’s not a personal choice in Swat; it’s directly related to the ruling agenda in the region.”

To read more, see the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user aturkus under a Creative Commons license.

But the attacks in Pakistan didn’t stop there. At a funeral for some of those killed, officials said four more missiles struck the procession, killing as many as 40 people and wounding 60 others.

The attacks took place in South Waziristan, an area where Pakistani government forces have stepped up their attacks on Taliban strongholds.

Ahmad Kamal, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United Nations, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the offensive in Waziristan and the refugee situation.

The number of displaced people in Pakistan has swelled and stretched the country’s resources.

Pakistan’s military offensive against Taliban militants in the Swat Valley is nearly over, according to the country’s defense minister.

However, the offensive has had enormous humanitarian costs, with more than 2 million people displaced as a result of conflict this year. The defense minister claims they will be able to start returning home on Saturday.

As people around the globe prepare for World Refugee Day on Saturday, a Worldfocus contributing blogger writes about Pakistan’s growing refugee crisis.

Nadia Tariq Ali works with The Asia Foundation in Pakistan and says that a failure to address Pakistan’s refugee situation could undermine any gains made in security.

United Nations officials have described the recent displacement of Pakistanis as the biggest humanitarian crisis since the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. It is also the largest dislocation of people in the region since the partition of the South Asian subcontinent in 1947 and, arguably, the worst crisis facing Pakistan since Bangladesh separated from Pakistan in 1971.

The IDP problem in Pakistan is [...]growing. The military offensive uprooted millions of people from three northwestern districts. As the offensive gained strength and people fled their homes for safety, the Pakistani government seemed unprepared for the crisis. Initially, no refugee camps existed, so many people went to the homes of their relatives and friends in other cities. However, in subsequent days, tens of thousands of people have gone to the special sites established for the IDPs in Mardan, Swabi, and Peshawar. Unfortunately, these facilities lacked even the most basic amenities of life: food, proper sanitation, and health facilities. The disruption of normal life has affected displaced persons psychologically, economically, socially, and emotionally. Women and girls face an extra risk of sexual and gender-based violence like rape, forced impregnation, forced abortion, trafficking, and sexual slavery in most internal displacement situations.

The international response to the situation leaves much to be desired. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, the United Nations and humanitarian agencies have issued an appeal for $543 million. As of June 12, only 22 percent of the appeal has been funded. If more money does not come through soon, the dire IDP situation will be compounded.

[...]Focusing on longer-term reconstruction and recovery through economic and social empowerment will help people move forward and rebuild their lives. Pakistan, after all, is not only fighting for its own survival but also for greater regional stability and security, which could face serious setbacks if the displacement issue is not adequately addressed.

To read more, see the original post.

The views expressed by contributing bloggers do not reflect the views of Worldfocus or its partners.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Al Jazeera English under a Creative Commons license.

Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, is near the border with India, hundreds of miles away from the battle lines in Swat Valley. Until recently, Lahore was considered safe from militant attacks, but no longer, after the third deadly terrorist attack in Lahore since March.

Alex Thier of the United States Institute of Peace joins Martin Savidge to discuss the bombing, public opinion about the government offensive and the refugee situation in Swat and the surrounding region.

Twitter user tahiriqbal in Lahore posted updates from near the site of the blast: 

bomb blast in lahore probably near mall road. many windows in my building in Chamber of Commerce Building have broken. God Bless All

gun firing also heard aftr lahore blast. Im sitting next to the window. Thank God it didn’t break. you can imagine wht might’ve happened

Shana, an interior designer working in Lahore, felt the blast and writes about her hope that peace can be restored in Pakistan: 

A little while ago, there was a sudden strange bang at the window. [...]I was worried. I opened the blinds, and everything seemed the same.

A colleague right near me did not notice busy with his photocopying, and as I stepped out and asked a few others near windows if they had heard or felt anything, (”Was there a bang at the window here?” to puzzled looks) I relaxed when they had not. I did not want to alarm them. Then twenty minutes later I heard that there has indeed been an explosion on Mall Road. 

Why??

I have asked myself this before.

Afterall there is a huge crisis in the country, - a war in the scenic northern areas of Pakistan as the army finally moves into areas terrorized by militants distorting Islam’s teachings, causing a huge wave of people fleeing the crisis and in dire straits in the extreme heat and poor conditions.

One could feel slightly guilty over wanting to be immersed in and taking delight in beautiful interior and design pictures that reflect luxury.

But I realize what it is about loving to look through beautiful pictures of homes: Not just a love of aesthetics but dreams and desires reflected : Peace, security, happiness and comfort, and identity. Serene, entertaining mirrors to human life, if you will.

Home is, or is supposed to be, the ultimate haven, where we can just be. Be safe and free to be our selves especially.

And it’s okay to want that, and only natural in times like this. Any place is home that holds beautiful hearts at peace with themselves and one another – living and letting live. I wish Pakistan and all the countries of the world would just become home then. 

Blogger Hasan Mubarak in Lahore criticizes the government for not considering the ramifications of its offensive: 

It was not unexpected after the Government launched an all-out military action against the militants in SWAT that they will hit back harder this time. Again, the phenomenon of suicide bombings is not new; we have now been going through this for the last two years while losing thousands of innocent people and a former Prime Minister. What’s new is the scale and sophistication of these blasts.

[…]There is no doubt about the fact that terrorism is Pakistan’s own problem but equally true is the fact that local elements are getting strong support from external forces. We were facing the challenge which was already unberable and then our Government started a military campaign in populated areas of SWAT. Why was it difficult for our Government to understand the scale of humanitarian crisis resulting from such a major offensive? Today we have forced civilians to flee their homes, abandon their crops, cattle and belongings only to face rejection and unacceptance by political and societal forces in their own country.

Today’s incident on Lower Mall should be attributed to the mistakes of our past. But the way we are dealing with the crisis in Swat and resulting displacement in millions, we are only breweing ground for a darker and more insecure future.

Blogger Muhammad Khan takes a different tone, praising the government and arguing that Wednesday’s bombing reflects desperation on the part of the Taliban:

This latest attack [...] demonstrate[s] that terrorists are now frustrated and they them selves believe that soon they will be history. 

God bless our security forces. Whole Pakistan is proud of them. 

The operation is in the Swat Valley and neighboring districts, and while the army said there have been no civilian casualties, the refugee crisis is growing worse by the day — hundreds of thousands have been displaced by recent fighting.
 
Jeff Stein, who follows national security matters for Congressional Quarterly and writes a column called “Spy Talk,” speaks with Martin Savidge about ethnic dimension of Pakistan’s conflict and discusses the security of the country’s nuclear weapons. 

As that country battles the militants, President Obama said he was “gravely concerned” about the stability of the government as it tries to gain support of the Pakistani people. All of this comes just days before President Asif Ali Zardari visits Washington next week.

Teresita Schaffer, director of the South Asia program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Pakistan’s offensive and security concerns over the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The Pakistani government has been making concessions to Taliban militants in the north of the country, in the Swat Valley, for weeks now.

Ahmed Rashid, a leading Pakistani journalist and author of “Descent into Chaos,” joins Martin Savidge for a deeper look at the situation in Pakistan.

They discuss the continuing shock waves in the global economy, the controversial peace plan between Pakistan and Taliban militants in the volatile Swat Valley and the buildup of American forces on the other side of the border, in Afghanistan.