Taliban's sway in Swat exposes Pak's lack of will to tackle extremism

Islamabad, Jan.21 (ANI): It's a matter of great concern if a heavy deployment of army and police fails to provide protection to the people of the Swat valley, and the recent attack on schools raises quite a few questions about the Pakistan government's seriousness towards tackling the extremist menace, a editorial in the Dawn says.

Despite heavy army and police presence in the region the Taliban blew-up five schools in the Swat valley recently. The attack on the educational institutions and the 'fatwa' issued by the Taliban to ban female education in the valley would not only prove detrimental for the whole system of education here, but also raises quite a few questions about the government's seriousness towards tackling the menace of extremism in the region, it added..

The growing impact of the Taliban in the tribal region and its writ to ban the female education would have grave implications both for the government's injunction in areas under attack from the militants and for the future of education in Pakistan which is already bleak, the editorial said.

It's a matter of great concern if a heavy deployment of army and police fails to provide protection to the people of the valley, and the attack on schools raises quite a few questions about the Pakistan government's seriousness towards tackling the extremist menace, it added.

Expressing concern, it said that the attacks came right after information minister Sherry Rehman's stern warning in the National Assembly that attacks on girls' schools will not be 'tolerated',which shows the grit and the grip of the militants in the Swat valley.

It's clear that the greatest sufferer in the fight between the forces and the extremists is education, the editorial said.

The militants have adopted a policy of destroying education to ensure that people cease to think and thus the dream of running a parallel government in Pakistan gets fulfilled easily, the editorial concluded. (ANI)