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Many of the displaced are packing their bags and getting ready to return to Swat. (IOL photo) |
KARACHI — After long months of languishing in refugee camps that sheltered thousands like him from the violence-racked Swat valley, Islamullah can’t believe he is finally heading home.
"I have no words to explain how glad I am," the 45-year-old farmer told IslamOnline.net.
"I feel myself like a bird returning to his nest after a long journey," he added as he packed his bags outside his makeshift house at a temporary camp for displaced people in the western part of Karachi city.
Islamullah is one of thousands of Swat residents who are heading back home to the valley after the recent peace deal between the government and local Taliban militants.
President Asif Zardari recently formalized the deal which allows the application of Shari`ah judicial system in the valley.
According to local reports, some 60 percent of Swat valley’s 1.5 million people had fled their houses over the past year and a half.
The restive valley was hit by some 18-month bloody battles between the army and pro-Taliban militants.
Most of the displaced had taken refuge in Pushtun-dominated cities across Pakistan, including Karachi, Mardan, Buner and Peshawar.
"I felt that I was living in a hell," Islamullah, who fled Swat along with his five children, recalls his refuge life.
"When you migrate, you actually leave everything, not only your home, but your identity, culture, and traditions," he maintained.
"I had shelter and food here… but this is no substitute of your own people and land."
Durable?
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| Some refugees prefer to wait and see how durable the peace would be before making the home-returning decision. (IOL photo) |
Taj Mohammad, a resident of Charbagh, a stronghold of the local Taliban militants, is also preparing to return.
"I will be leaving within a few days," the jubilant man, who used to run a small café at his hometown, told IOL.
"My relatives and friends, who have already reached there, have told me that normality has returned to most of the areas, including mine."
But unlike Islamullah and Mohammad, Mustaqeem Khan prefers to wait before making the journey home.
"I have no immediate plans to return. I will wait and see how durable this peace deal is," he told IOL.
Khan lives in Kabal area, the epicenter of clashes between pro-Taliban fighters and security forces.
He notes that Shari`ah, though overwhelmingly supported by Swat people, is not welcomed by the US.
"I fully support the Shari`ah judicial system and the peace deal, but what I fear is that it won’t be long lasting because of the internal and external pressures," he said.
"America and the Western world are opposing the enforcement of Shari`ah. I would like to see how long the government will be able to bear this pressure."
Washington has repeatedly raised its concerns about the peace deal and the enforcement of Shari`ah in Swat, a former ski resort and jewel in the crown of Pakistani tourism.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told an Afghan TV channel that they have officially informed Pakistan about their concern.
For Islamaullah, the Swat farmer, Shari`ah implementation is the guarantee for the peace deal.
"If there had been a peace deal without enforcement of Shari`ah system, I would not have planned to return because it would not have been durable," he contends.
"Inshaullah, there will be a durable peace this time."
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