Swat - a beautiful tragedy

The stunning swat valley has been at the epicentre of so many tragedies that even the hands writing its elegies have run out of words. Whether extremism or natural catastrophe, there’s no calamity that has not yet descended upon the dwellers of Swat.

I arrive in Swat late evening after passing through so many army checkpoints that I lose count. Standing in the cool autumnal air, I am approached by a young and obviously well-educated Pakhtun cabbie.

 “Sahib, are you here for a visit? Should I take you to a hotel?” he asks.

I end up going with him to Swat’s Mingora bazaar, which is bursting with life though very different from how I remember it more than 10 years ago. Now designer stores stand side by side with smaller shops, their offerings spilling out on to the narrow road.

Mingora also brings back memories of my youth, a time of energy and no restrictions. We would joke about Pakhtuns in front of them in the bazaar. The jokes would invite nothing but lively cackles and twinkling eyes.

So much has changed since then.

After a night in one of the hotels by the River Swat in Fiza Ghat, I commence my journey to Kabal. The cemented road is busy with trucks piled high with vegetables and other goods and I see several small canals irrigating fields along with bridges bearing signboards thanking the Saudi Fund for Development Pakistan.

“Earlier the fields near the streams would absorb all the water during the drought season, leaving nothing for the tail-end fields. During the rainy season, water would overflow, creating a flood-like situation. Now, at least, all the fields receive their fair share of irrigation water,” says farmer Baz Khan, who is sitting on a charpoy in the middle of a field watching his labourers pick tomatoes. 

The next night is spent in Khwazakhela, which seems very quiet in comparison to Mingora.

At a village in Matta tehsil. I observe a scared look in the eyes of children playing in the streets. Chatting to a local, I learn of the peoples’ problems, which include the lack of any link road between the hamlet and the main road.

“My father died while we were taking him to the hospital on a charpoy. It took two hours to get to the main road from here. Midway, he asked us to lower the charpoy because he knew he wouldn’t survive. We kept walking but he didn’t make it,” he says.

However, where they exist, Swat’s short link roads have paved the way for better employment opportunities. The construction of bridges over streams has made the daunting task of going to school easier for students.

Behind the snow-covered peaks of Hindu Kush, the sun is about to set and I stop at the River Swat. Two labourers were on their way home after a hard day of work.

In complete solitude, I watch cranes flying over the river with Kalaam’s mountain peaks as the backdrop. Then darkness takes over and I can see no more.

 

(For more Swat photos, visit www.NationMultiMedia.com/travel)

 

IF YOU GO

< Swat is a valley district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, about 250 kilometres (or five hours) from Islamabad. The valley is noted for its beautiful landscape, the Hindu Kush mountain range and the Swat River.