SWAT DISTRICT, Pakistan -- The Swat valley, a picturesque region in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, was once a tourist destination. Two years ago, however, it became a Taliban haven when Maulana Fazlullah, a hardline cleric turned militant Taliban commander, launched a vicious campaign against the education of girls. Unlike much of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the east, along the 1,400-mile border with Afghanistan, the Swat valley has historically been known for the relatively liberal values and traditions of its people, as well as its mesmerizing natural scenery. When Buddhism was the primary influence in the area, from about the 1st century B.C. to the the 9th century A.D., the Swat valley was a regional seat of learning, a destination for knowledge-seekers from central Asia and China.
Taliban Violently Campaigns Against Girls’ Education in Northwest Pakistan
