Second Battle of Swat
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Swat also known as Operation Rah-e-Rast, began in May 2009 and involved the Pakistani Army
and Islamic militants in a fight
for control of the Swat district of Pakistan
. The first Battle of Swat had ended with a peace agreement, widely criticised in the west, that the government had signed with the Taliban in February 2009. However, by late April 2009 government troops and the Taliban began to clash once again, and in May the government launched military operations throughout the district and elsewhere to oppose the Taliban.
, between elite Pakistani commandos and about 300 Taliban militants positioned in deserted buildings and continued until 23 May 2009, when a major Pakistani offensive retook much of the city. Amid heavy street fighting, the Pakistani Army captured large parts of the city, including several key intersections and squares.
On 24 May, the Pakistani Army announced it had retaken large parts of Mingora
. Major-General Athar Abbas
, the Army's chief military spokesman, announced that "we want to eliminate the entire [Taliban] leadership". Pakistani soldiers continued to engage the Taliban in street fighting and search buildings for Taliban fighters. Pakistani troops also retook several nearby towns previously under Taliban control.
On 30 May, the Pakistani military announced that it had regained control of all of Mingora, though small pockets of resistance still remained in the city's outskirts
. Fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants continued in other areas. The Pakistani army claimed the death toll to be 1,200 Taliban fighters and 90 Pakistani soldiers.
There were believed to be 200,000 people in Mingora as recently as a week prior to the eruption of hostilities. Following the lifting of a curfew, as of 23 May a large exodus left what was believed to be only 10,000-20,000 civilians in the town.
the military moved on to Malam Jabba
and Qamabr Bazar taking those towns and killing the TNSM leaders of those towns. On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military. Sporadic fighting went on in the rest of Swat and in the Shangla district.
, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
or TNSM, was arrested in Amandarra along with other militant leaders. In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Sufi Muhammad
was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7.
On June 12, in response to a bomb explosion at a mosque that killed 38 civilians, local Pakistani militia numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 surrounded almost 300 militants. The Pakistani army sent Helicopter Gunships to provide air support to militia fighting in the villages of Shatkas and Ghazi Gai, where the fiercest fighting took place. Pakistani paramilitaries also set up mortar positions on the high ground overlooking the villages. 20 homes suspected of housing Taliban fighters were destroyed. 11 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting. On June 12, the Pakistani army captured the town of Chuprial in a fierce battle. 39 Taliban fighters and 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed. On June 14, Pakistani soldiers began to clear the last pockets of resistance. On July 15, clashes throughout the Swat valley left 11 Taliban militants and 1 Pakistani soldier dead, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the town of Kabal. The refugees that had fled their homes also began to return on July 15.
, however, remains at large. Maulana Fazlullah
was actually hit in two air strikes, and is critically wounded and stranded in Imam Dehri without any access to medical assistance.
in Karachi
where he was keeping a low profile by working for PTCL
(Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd
).
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
and Islamic militants in a fight
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
for control of the Swat district of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The first Battle of Swat had ended with a peace agreement, widely criticised in the west, that the government had signed with the Taliban in February 2009. However, by late April 2009 government troops and the Taliban began to clash once again, and in May the government launched military operations throughout the district and elsewhere to oppose the Taliban.
Battle for Mingora City
Fighting commenced in the largest and main city of the district, MingoraMingora
Mingora is the largest city in Swat District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of and lies on the banks of River Swat about from Saidu Sharif, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000...
, between elite Pakistani commandos and about 300 Taliban militants positioned in deserted buildings and continued until 23 May 2009, when a major Pakistani offensive retook much of the city. Amid heavy street fighting, the Pakistani Army captured large parts of the city, including several key intersections and squares.
On 24 May, the Pakistani Army announced it had retaken large parts of Mingora
Mingora
Mingora is the largest city in Swat District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of and lies on the banks of River Swat about from Saidu Sharif, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000...
. Major-General Athar Abbas
Athar Abbas
Major General Athar Abbas is a two-star general and the current military spokesperson for the Pakistan Defence Forces who replaced Major General Waheed Arshad as the new Director General of Inter Services Public Relations on January 14, 2008....
, the Army's chief military spokesman, announced that "we want to eliminate the entire [Taliban] leadership". Pakistani soldiers continued to engage the Taliban in street fighting and search buildings for Taliban fighters. Pakistani troops also retook several nearby towns previously under Taliban control.
On 30 May, the Pakistani military announced that it had regained control of all of Mingora, though small pockets of resistance still remained in the city's outskirts
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
. Fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants continued in other areas. The Pakistani army claimed the death toll to be 1,200 Taliban fighters and 90 Pakistani soldiers.
There were believed to be 200,000 people in Mingora as recently as a week prior to the eruption of hostilities. Following the lifting of a curfew, as of 23 May a large exodus left what was believed to be only 10,000-20,000 civilians in the town.
Expansion of Operation
After retaking the town of MingoraMingora
Mingora is the largest city in Swat District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of and lies on the banks of River Swat about from Saidu Sharif, the present capital of Swat. As of 1998, the population of Mingora was about 175,000...
the military moved on to Malam Jabba
Malam Jabba
Malam Jabba is a Hill Station in the Karakoram mountain range nearly 40 km from Saidu Sharif in Swat Valley, Peshawar, Pakistan. It is 314 km from Islamabad and 51 km from Saidu Sharif Airport....
and Qamabr Bazar taking those towns and killing the TNSM leaders of those towns. On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military. Sporadic fighting went on in the rest of Swat and in the Shangla district.
Capture of Taliban Commanders
On June 4, 2009 it was reported that Sufi MuhammadSufi Muhammad
Sufi Muhammad bin Alhazrat Hassan, born in Dir, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi and Deobandi learnings vying for implementation of Sharia in Pakistan. It operates mainly in the Dir, Swat, and Malakand districts of...
, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
or TNSM, was arrested in Amandarra along with other militant leaders. In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Sufi Muhammad
Sufi Muhammad
Sufi Muhammad bin Alhazrat Hassan, born in Dir, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi and Deobandi learnings vying for implementation of Sharia in Pakistan. It operates mainly in the Dir, Swat, and Malakand districts of...
was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7.
On June 12, in response to a bomb explosion at a mosque that killed 38 civilians, local Pakistani militia numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 surrounded almost 300 militants. The Pakistani army sent Helicopter Gunships to provide air support to militia fighting in the villages of Shatkas and Ghazi Gai, where the fiercest fighting took place. Pakistani paramilitaries also set up mortar positions on the high ground overlooking the villages. 20 homes suspected of housing Taliban fighters were destroyed. 11 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting. On June 12, the Pakistani army captured the town of Chuprial in a fierce battle. 39 Taliban fighters and 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed. On June 14, Pakistani soldiers began to clear the last pockets of resistance. On July 15, clashes throughout the Swat valley left 11 Taliban militants and 1 Pakistani soldier dead, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the town of Kabal. The refugees that had fled their homes also began to return on July 15.
Final Assault
On September 11, 2009, the Pakistan Army announced that Muslim Khan and four other senior TNSM commanders were captured near Mingora. Maulana FazlullahMaulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country...
, however, remains at large. Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah
Maulana Fazlullah, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country...
was actually hit in two air strikes, and is critically wounded and stranded in Imam Dehri without any access to medical assistance.
Success of Operations
By August 22, 1.6 million of 2.2 million returned home, as per UN estimates. On January 11, 2010, Hayatullah Hamyo one of the TTP commanders in Swat was captured in Orangi TownOrangi Town
Orangi Town is a town in the northwestern part of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is bordered by New Karachi Town to the north across the Shahrah-e-Zahid Hussain, Gulberg Town to the east across the Gujjar Nala stream, Liaquatabad Town to the south, and SITE Town to the west...
in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
where he was keeping a low profile by working for PTCL
PTCL
PTCL may be:* Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd, Pakistan* Peripheral T-cell lymphoma* Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, England...
(Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited is the largest telecommunication company in Pakistan.The company provides telephony services nation-wide and is the backbone for country's telecommunication infrastructure despite arrival of a dozen other telecommunication comanies, including giants like...
).
See also
- 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan2009 refugee crisis in PakistanThe 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan is the massive displacement of civilians in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan that is occurring due to Operation Black Thunderstorm....
- First Battle of SwatFirst Battle of SwatThe Battle of Swat, Codename: Operation Rah-e-Haq, began on October 25, 2007 and involved the Pakistan Army and Taliban-led forces in a fight for control of the Swat district of Pakistan. Between October 25 and November 7, 2007 the militants quickly seized control of the region...
- Operation Black ThunderstormOperation Black ThunderstormOperation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Taliban after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.- Background...
- War in North-West PakistanWar in North-West PakistanThe War in North-West Pakistan is an armed conflict between the Pakistan Armed Forces and armed religious groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , Lashkar-e-Islam, TSNM, Arab and Central Asian militants including Al-Qaeda, regional armed movements and elements of organized crime.The armed...