CITING “credible” information gleaned from local accounts, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called for a parliamentary probe into allegations of extrajudicial killings in Swat. The issue is cause for great concern. There is no doubt that Swat and other districts in the Malakand division suffered greatly at the hands of the Taliban. But the country cannot afford a vengeful response — on the part of the people or the security agencies —for this could lead to uncontrollable violence that would plunge the area into deeper chaos. The HRCP team reports a number of Swat residents as having seen mass graves and being witnesses to mass burials. In some cases, the dead appeared to be Taliban militants. There are also harrowing accounts of bodies strung up in public places as a warning to supporters of the militants.

These accounts are reminiscent of the fear tactics used by the Taliban. The public's anger is understandable — particularly on the part of the thousands who were forced to leave their towns and villages and are now returning to devastated homes. Yet a collective policy of revenge can only spell disaster. Local populations of the conflict-hit zones are being encouraged to raise private lashkars to ward off remnant militant cells and individuals. But they must be encouraged to do so in a manner that does not violate legal norms. There is great danger of individuals being wrongly identified and treated as terrorists, or for the lashkars to be used as tools to settle private scores. A Taliban witch-hunt must be avoided at all cost. Neither state nor society should be allowed to resort to tactics that smack of Taliban brutality all suspected militants must be dealt with through a transparent judicial process. Anything less would mean adopting the same lawless means that characterised the Taliban's actions.