A fresh look at Swat

Published July 6, 2011

Taliban militants led by cleric Mullah Fazlullah took control of the scenic Swat valley in 2007 but the army retook Swat after launching a major offensive against the Taliban in 2009 which displaced an estimated two million people. Now the  army-run "de-radicalisation" center of Mishal School in Barikot tehsil of Swat valley,  started last year, seeks to help hundreds of children and teens endangered by the Taliban, who ruled Swat before the military drove out the insurgents in 2009. These young boys are used as “walking bombs” by the Taliban to target security forces, government employees and ideological opponents in the tribal areas and elsewhere in the country. -Photos by AFP

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