The Second Battle of Swat also known as Operation Rah-e-Rast, began in May 2009 and involved the
Pakistani Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants in a
fight
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
for control of the
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
district of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The first
Battle of Swat had ended with a peace agreement, that the government had signed with the
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...
in February 2009. However, by late April 2009 government troops and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan began to clash once again, and in May the government launched military operations throughout the district and elsewhere to oppose the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Battle for Mingora City
Fighting commenced in the largest and main city of the district,
Mingora
Mingora ( ps, مینګورہ, ur, ) is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and t ...
, between elite Pakistani commandos and about 300 Taliban militants positioned in deserted buildings and continued until 23 May 2009, when a major Pakistani offensive retook much of the city. Amid heavy street fighting, the Pakistani Army captured large parts of the city, including several key intersections and squares.
On 24 May, the Pakistani Army announced it had retaken large parts of
Mingora
Mingora ( ps, مینګورہ, ur, ) is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and t ...
.
Major-General Athar Abbas, the Army's chief military spokesman, announced that "we want to eliminate the entire
alibanleadership". Pakistani soldiers continued to engage the Taliban in street fighting and search buildings for Taliban fighters. Pakistani troops also retook several nearby towns previously under Taliban control.
On 30 May, the Pakistani military announced that it had regained control of all of Mingora, though small pockets of resistance still remained in the city's outskirts. Fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants continued in other areas. The Pakistani army claimed the death toll to be 1,200 Taliban fighters and 90 Pakistani
soldiers
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer.
Etymology
The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
.
There were believed to be 200,000 people in Mingora as recently as a week prior to the eruption of hostilities. Following the lifting of a curfew, as of 23 May a large exodus left what was believed to be only 10,000–20,000 civilians in the town.
Expansion of Operation
After retaking the town of
Mingora
Mingora ( ps, مینګورہ, ur, ) is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and t ...
the military moved on to
Malam Jabba
Malam Jabba (also Maalam Jabba, Urdu: مالم جبہ) is a Hill Station and ski resort in the Hindu Kush mountain range nearly 40 km from Saidu Sharif in Swat Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is 314 km from Islamabad ...
and Qamabr Bazar taking those towns and killing the
TNSM
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ur, تحریک نفاذ شریعت محمدی, en, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Salafi Islamic extremist militant group in Pakistan whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in t ...
leaders of those towns. On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military. Sporadic fighting went on in the rest of
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
and in the
Shangla
Shangla District ( ps, شانګله ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarter is located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district ...
district.
Capture of Taliban Commanders
![Pakistan military in Swat - Flickr - Al Jazeera English](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Pakistan_military_in_Swat_-_Flickr_-_Al_Jazeera_English.jpg)
On June 4, 2009, it was reported that
Sufi Muhammad, the founder of
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ur, تحریک نفاذ شریعت محمدی, en, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Salafi Islamic extremist militant group in Pakistan whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in ...
or TNSM, was arrested in
Amandarra along with other militant leaders. In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that
Sufi Muhammad was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7.
On June 6, the Taliban attacked Gul Jabba Checkpoint. This attack was repulsed, but cost the life of Captain Fiaz Ahmad Ghunian of the 72nd Punjab Regiment Pakistan Army.
On June 12, in response to a bomb explosion at a mosque that killed 38 civilians, local Pakistani militia numbering between 1,000 and 1,500 surrounded almost 300 militants. The Pakistani army sent Helicopter Gunships to provide air support to militia fighting in the villages of Shatkas and Ghazi Gai, where the fiercest fighting took place. Pakistani paramilitaries also set up mortar positions on the high ground overlooking the villages. 20 homes suspected of housing Taliban fighters were destroyed. 11 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting. On June 12, the Pakistani army captured the town of Chuprial in a fierce battle. 39 Taliban fighters and 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed. On June 14, Pakistani soldiers began to clear the last pockets of resistance. On July 15, clashes throughout the Swat valley left 11 Taliban militants and 1 Pakistani soldier dead, with the heaviest fighting taking place in the town of Kabal. The refugees that had fled their homes also began to return on July 15.
Final Assault
On September 11, 2009, the Pakistan Army announced that Muslim Khan and four other senior TNSM commanders were captured near Mingora.
Maulana Fazlullah
Fazal Hayat (1974 – 14 June 2018), more commonly known by his pseudonym Mullah Fazlullah (Pashto/ ur, ), was an Islamist militant who was the leader of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, and was the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Paki ...
was actually hit in two air strikes, and was critically wounded and stranded for sometime in Imam Dehri without any access to medical assistance.
Success of Operations
By August 22, 2009, 1.6 million of 2.2 million refugees returned home, as per UN estimates. On January 11, 2010,
Hayatullah Hamyo one of the TTP commanders in
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
was captured in
Orangi Town
Orangi Town ( sd, اُورنگي ٽاؤن, ur, ) lies in the northwestern part of the city that was named after the sprawling municipality of Orangi. Orangi Town was formed in 2001 as part oThe Local Government Ordinance 2001 and was subdivi ...
in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
where he was keeping a low profile by working for
PTCL
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., commonly known as PTCL ( ur, ) is the national telecommunication company in Pakistan.[Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., commonly known as PTCL ( ur, ) is the national telecommunication company in Pakistan.](_blank)[2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan
The 2009 refugee crisis in Pakistan was the massive displacement of civilians in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan that was caused by Operation Black Thunderstorm.
Since the beginning of Operation Black Thunderstorm against the Taliban, over 1.2 ...](_blank)
*
First Battle of Swat
The First Battle of Swat, also known as Operation Rah-e-Haq, was fought between Pakistan and the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late 2007 over control of the Swat District of Pakistan.
The battle began on 25 October 2007 and involved the Pakistani Army ...
*
Operation Black Thunderstorm
Operation Black Thunderstorm was an aggressive military operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistan Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after the m ...
*
War in North-West Pakistan
The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan, and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Junda ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Battle Of Swat
Military operations of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2009 in Pakistan
Conflicts in 2009
Sniper warfare
May 2009 events in Pakistan
June 2009 events in Pakistan
July 2009 events in Pakistan