354:
terrain. On 25 October, heavy fighting started with a suicide bomber attacking a paramilitary truck and killing 17 soldiers and 13 civilians. Fighting erupted in the hills with
Taliban forces attacking military posts and the military attacking Taliban mountain hideouts. By 31 October, the military reported that up to 130 militant fighters were killed, however the next day about 700 militants overran a police position on a hill in Khwazakhela. Police forces in Matta were completely surrounded by the end of the day. The Taliban also overran the nearby town of Khwazakhela, thus taking two police stations and took a large arsenal of weapons that was in them. There was no major fighting until 7 November, when the Taliban continued their advance and took the town of Madyan. The police there also gave up their weapons, vehicles and control of local police stations. The insurgents occupied the floodplain side of the broad Swat river, which sweeps up towards the Hindu Kush mountains, while the remaining Pakistani infantry troops held the road that follows the steep, forested hills. This left the Taliban in control of most of the Swat district and by then they had already set up their own local 'governors' in Tehsil Kabal, Matta and Khawazkhela.
367:, which is the district headquarters of Shangla, fell to the Taliban insurgents. As the militant force was coming towards the town the police force deserted without a fight. The military quickly turned the focus of their operations now not to take back Swat but to keep Shangla. By 17 November, an estimated 100 militants were killed in the fighting. On 25 November, Taliban forces decided to leave Alpuri because of the huge Pakistani infantry forces moving towards the area. The Taliban evacuated Alpuri and took up positions on the mountaintops around the town. Meanwhile, in Swat on 26 November, Pakistani artillery resulted in the death of two top Taliban commanders. With artillery fire and ground forces, the Pakistani Army tried to recapture many strategic hilltops from the Taliban and indeed, they managed to capture some of the hilltops and drove the Taliban back to the Swat district. The fighting for the hilltops left 4 Pakistani soldiers and 45 Taliban forces. On 27 November, Pakistani forces secured Shangla.
241:
194:
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482:. But the government of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari later changed the agreement to allow the right of appeal to the supreme court of Pakistan (a secular institution observing the Pakistani penal code based on English common law) on verdicts issues by the Shariat court which was unacceptable to the TNSM and would be the precursor to the
384:
Madyan police stations and fled to nearby forests. They also left the
Charbagh police post in Khwazakhela, their stronghold about 27 km from Mingora. Police and troops were yet to enter the areas, as pounding of suspected militant positions continued and specialists were called in to sweep the area for
383:
Also on 28 November, the
Pakistan Army had cleared Imam Dehri, the headquarters of Maulana Fazlullah's seminary, and police resumed their normal duty in Alpuri, the district headquarters of Shangla. Around 50 militants were killed in four days of fighting. The militants vacated Matta, Khwazakhela and
464:
Despite the victory by the
Pakistani army, Taliban militants slowly re-entered Swat over the following months and started engaging security forces in battles that lasted throughout 2008. By early February 2009, the Taliban had managed to regain control of most of Swat and at least 80 percent of the
362:
On 12 November, 5,000 soldiers belonging to 12th
Regular Army were deployed to Swat to bolster the already 15,000 para-military and police that were already fighting to keep what ground of the district they still held. The Pakistan Army mounted a number of operations to counter the militants and
375:
Pakistani forces had retaken the
Shangla district, but pockets of Swat were still in the hands of the insurgents. By 27 November, Pakistani ground forces were not able to reach Matta, Khwazakhela, Charbagh and other sensitive areas occupied by militants. The security forces concentrated on Imam
353:
law in the valley that included preventing women's education, death penalty for barbers, music shop owners, and thieves, along with an anti Polio-vaccination campaign to prevent the local population from getting vaccinated. The
Pakistani infantry troops deployed to the hill-tops of the rugged
455:
When the situation went out of hand as predicted, the provincial government requested the center to ask the Army to provide help, built nation support across this phenomenon and evacuate almost 2 million civilians from Sawat Valley to conduct an all out operation against the
Taliban.
379:
After suffering colossal losses, the militants in Swat vacated all seized police stations and other government buildings by 28 November and decided to go underground while the government closed down all FM radio channels in the district, including the one run by
Maulana Fazlullah.
376:
Dehri, the native village of
Maulana Fazlullah, and nearby Kuza Banda, Bara Banda and Nigwalai. Once fighting commenced, most insurgents retreated to nearby areas. The highest peak in the Kabal district was retaken and other recent gains were consolidated.
477:
under the government's supervision with a sharia courts set up by the Government of Pakistan under the Shariat appellate bench of the Supreme court in the Malakand region. In return, Fazlullah's followers agreed to observe a ceasefire negotiated by
395:
On 5 December, the Pakistan army entered and took full control of the town of Matta, followed by the capture of the towns of Khwazakhela and Imam Dehri on 6 December. Imam Dehri was the previous home of Maulana Fazlullah and his radio station.
408:
launched various military operations to defeat the Taliban militants. Operation Rah-e-Haq-II was launched in July 2008 as the first infantry division was deployed. This time the military operation was led by both
540:
Abbas, Hassan. “Pakistan’s Counterterrorism Strategy and Its Implications for Domestic, Regional and International Security.” International Affairs, vol. 97, no. 3, 2021, pp. 709-726.
332:
district of Pakistan. From 25 October 2007, to 7 November 2007, the militants quickly seized control of the region. On 15 November 2007, a Pakistani offensive commenced.
571:
Abbas, H. (2021). Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy and its implications for domestic, regional and international security. International Affairs, 97(3), 709-726.
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their expanse. However, on 15 November, militants advanced from Swat, which was now under their control, into the next district to the east, Shangla. That day
440:
infantry troops provided help to four army infantry brigades. The last week of January saw intensive aerial and artillery bombing. The forces regained
851:
452:. The government seemed confident of the outcome of the peace deal. However, it was later proved to be a setup by government to deceive Taliban.
499:
feared that the agreement would only serve to allow militants to regroup and to create a safe haven for cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.
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The Army launched Operation Rah-e-Haq-III in January 2009 to secure the main supply lines and consolidate
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449:
417:. The operation was relied on both air power as well as heavy artillery. Soon the Taliban Forces, led by
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Fair, C. Christine. Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War. Oxford University Press, 2014.
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expressed concern that the agreement would legitimize human rights abuses in the region.
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410:
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On 24 October, more than 3,000 Pakistani infantry troops were sent to Swat to confront
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67:
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Blank, Jonah. "Pakistan Captures Taliban Headquarters Town." Reuters, 24 May 2009,
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The Pakistani government announced on 16 February 2009 that it would allow the
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forces that were massing in the district in a bid to impose their version of
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Led to the short-lived 2009 ceasefire that eventually ended in the decisive
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807:"Pakistan Blasted for Creating Taliban Safe Haven With Islamic Law Deal"
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-swat-idUSTRE54N0YR20090524
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and were poised to push the Taliban out of the district when
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and the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late 2007 over control of the
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Second phase – Battle for Shangla, Pakistani offensives
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The battle began on 25 October 2007 and involved the
16:
2007 conflict between Pakistan and Taliban insurgents
744:"Pakistan officials allow Sharia in volatile region"
728:
https://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090130/wl_csm/oswat_1
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781:"Taliban to cease fire in Pakistan's Swat Valley"
328:and TTP-led forces in a fight for control of the
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609:
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584:
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837:Battles of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
651:Perlez, Jane; Khan, Ismail (16 November 2007).
742:Ali, Zulfiqar; Laura King (17 February 2009).
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677:Army assault continues on militant strongholds
640:http://in.news.yahoo.com/071107/139/6mygo.html
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653:"Militants Gain Despite Decree by Musharraf"
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450:Shariah was introduced in Swat and Malakand
50:(1 month, 1 week and 6 days)
768:BBC News - Pakistan agrees Sharia law deal
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852:Battles involving the Pakistani Taliban
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713:Troops wrest control of key Swat areas
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13:
615:"Pakistan army retakes Swat towns"
573:https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab035
465:district was under their control.
14:
893:
779:Toosi, Nahal (15 February 2009).
590:"Pakistan hunting Swat militants"
522:List of drone strikes in Pakistan
341:First phase – Taliban occupy Swat
882:December 2007 events in Pakistan
877:November 2007 events in Pakistan
701:Swat militants take to the woods
689:Pakistan army 'retakes key peak'
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35:Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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809:. Fox News. 17 February 2009
783:. Yahoo News. Archived from
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48:25 October – 8 December 2007
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847:2000s in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
592:. BBC News. 8 December 2007
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421:, started playing havoc in
68:Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
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489:Reactions to the Ceasefire
236:12th Regular Army Regiment
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469:February 2009 ceasefire
703:The NEWS international
425:. So the Army started
227:10th Infantry Division
177:Commanders and leaders
511:Second Battle of Swat
503:Amnesty International
484:Second Battle of Swat
400:Subsequent Operations
313:, was fought between
286:Casualties and losses
89:Second Battle of Swat
27:(Operation Rah-e-Haq)
307:First Battle of Swat
24:First Battle of Swat
787:on 16 February 2009
718:, 29 November 2007.
311:Operation Rah-e-Haq
291:15 soldiers killed,
253:Special Combat Unit
657:The New York Times
293:3 policemen killed
141:Pakistan Air Force
83:Pakistani victory
748:Los Angeles Times
621:. 6 December 2007
448:was released and
427:Operation Sherdil
309:, also known as
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209:Maulana Fazlullah
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867:Shangla District
842:2007 in Pakistan
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679:DAWN newspaper
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509:Main article:
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438:Frontier Corps
419:Faqir Mohammed
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326:Pakistani Army
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215:Units involved
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198:Zahir Ali Khan
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862:Swat District
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480:Sufi Muhammad
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446:Sufi Muhammad
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434:Swat District
430:
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423:Bajaur Agency
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406:Pakistan Army
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319:Swat District
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129:Pakistan Army
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811:. Retrieved
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789:. Retrieved
785:the original
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751:. Retrieved
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723:
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623:. Retrieved
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594:. Retrieved
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404:In between,
403:
394:
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378:
374:
361:
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299:143 captured
247:
189:Naser Janjua
147:
106:
101:Belligerents
82:
18:
813:18 February
791:15 February
753:17 February
390:booby traps
371:Third phase
278:3,000–5,000
60:Swat Valley
831:Categories
528:References
475:Sharia law
297:250 killed
460:Aftermath
411:Air Force
691:BBC News
516:See also
315:Pakistan
273:Strength
116:Pakistan
72:Pakistan
55:Location
33:Part of
442:Mingora
347:Taliban
268:Unknown
264:FCKP(N)
64:Shangla
365:Alpuri
351:Sharia
336:Battle
248:Eagles
113:
79:Result
662:2 May
625:2 May
596:2 May
386:mines
281:1,000
815:2009
793:2009
755:2009
716:Dawn
664:2010
627:2010
598:2010
497:NATO
415:Army
413:and
388:and
330:Swat
305:The
169:TNSM
62:and
45:Date
619:BBC
156:TTP
833::
746:.
734:^
655:.
617:.
606:^
579:^
436:.
429:.
392:.
70:,
66:,
817:.
795:.
757:.
666:.
629:.
600:.
553:.
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