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{"id":1981,"date":"2019-05-13T18:22:54","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T18:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2019-05-13T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T18:22:54","slug":"pakistan-swat-valley-from-terrorism-to-tourism-and-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/pakistan-swat-valley-from-terrorism-to-tourism-and-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan Swat Valley, From terrorism to tourism and Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1982 aligncenter\" src=../../../../_https_/peacetourism.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Peace-Tourism.jpg/_.html alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Peace-Tourism.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Peace-Tourism-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Peace-Tourism-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Peace-Tourism-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/peacetourism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Peace-Tourism-600x375.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/h4>\n<h4>Swat valley is locally known as Pakistan&#8217;s Switzerland thanks to its snow-capped mountains and scenic views.<\/h4>\n<p>Swat, a scenic valley in northwestern\u00a0Pakistan, was once a Taliban stronghold where TV was banned, public hangings were not uncommon, and girls were barred from going to school. Following a security operation which ended last year, the valley is coming back to life and welcoming a steady stream of tourists.<\/p>\n<p>Locally known as\u00a0Pakistan&#8217;s Switzerland due to its snow-capped mountains and lush green landscapes, the valley is a short drive away (153.5 miles) from the capital Islamabad.<\/p>\n<p>But from 2007 to 2010, it was the poster image for the\u00a0Pakistani Taliban&#8217;s reign of terror.<\/p>\n<p>The Taliban, seeking to enforce a crude form of Shariah law in the region, campaigned against girls&#8217; education.\u00a0Some 640 schools were destroyed in this period in Swat and its adjoining districts, the Education Department says.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Those were difficult times. Taliban militants had banned girls&#8217; education and disallowed women teachers from going to schools,&#8221; Uzma Gul, a local teacher in Swat, told Anadolu Agency.<\/p>\n<p>Swat is also the hometown of Nobel laureate\u00a0Malala Yousafzai, who survived a bullet in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for daring to speak out\u00a0for\u00a0girls&#8217; education.<\/p>\n<p>The brazen attack on Yousafzai, who was 15 at the time, sparked outrage in\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0and internationally.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistan\u00a0army launched a full-scale military operation against the\u00a0Pakistani Taliban in 2009 and announced its successful end in 2018.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tourist revisit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Traders who left the area during the Taliban era have returned to Swat, and its city of Mingora has once again become a business hub.<\/p>\n<p>Tourists have also made a steady comeback to escape the sweltering summers of the big cities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I came from Lahore with my family after 15 years and, really, I am very happy that peace has returned,&#8221; said a tourist, Rana Afzal.<\/p>\n<p>However, he added, for tourism to reach its full capacity the government should focus on infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I spent two days in Swat but never felt any fear. Life is normal, like in the cities, but the condition of roads is poor,&#8221; Afzal said.<\/p>\n<p>The hotel industry, which bore the brunt of militancy, is also picking up the pieces.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are over 400 hotels that were\u00a0affected. We are trying to restore them but it is difficult without government support,&#8221; said Zahid Khan, head of the Swat Hotels Association.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The government should construct roads, open banks, control prices, and create a friendly environment for tourists if they want to bring back tourism in the region,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>According to the provincial tourism department, one\u00a0million people including foreigners visited Swat in 2018.\u00a0The authorities expect this figure to surpass one million this year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcoming foreigners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pakistan\u00a0in March announced a visa on arrival policy for five countries\u00a0including Turkey, China, Malaysia, UAE and the U.K. in a move to boost tourism.<\/p>\n<p>The government led by former cricket hero Prime Minister Imran Khan also invited foreign travel bloggers\u00a0to the country to paint a rosy international image of\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0to internet savvy\u00a0millennials abroad.<\/p>\n<p>However, critics claim, these glossy reviews do not address the true challenges faced by this deeply conservative nation which might not yet be ready for modern tourism.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now\u00a0peace has been restored in the Swat valley and foreign tourists can visit along with their families here,&#8221; Atif Khan, a senior minister for tourism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Foreigners and local tourists would enjoy the hospitality of local Pashtun people but they must respect the local culture and customs,&#8221; Khan said, hinting that tourists should dress conservatively and stay off\u00a0alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By\u00a0 Islamuddin Sajid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p> <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=../../../../_https_/peacetourism.org/pakistan-swat-valley-from-terrorism-to-tourism-and-peace/_.html title=\"Pakistan Swat Valley, From terrorism to tourism and Peace\">&#8230;..<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[131,130,128,129,98],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-from-terrorism-to-peace","tag-from-terrorism-to-tourism","tag-pakistan-swat-valley","tag-pakistan-tourism","tag-peace-tourism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.9 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pakistan Swat Valley, From terrorism to tourism and Peace - International Institute For Peace Through Tourism IIPT<\/title>\n
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