Swat killings
It was reported in the September 15, 2009 edition of the New York Times that the Pakistan Army in the Swat Valley has retaliated for the heavy army causalities inflicted by the Taliban by resorting to torturing, maiming and killing civilians. People in Swat Valley have disappeared for days and later their bodies were found dumped in mass graves.
Residents of the Swat Valley have nervously complained of the arbitrary and unpredictable army rule. Predictably, the Pakistan Army has strenuously denied any involvement in such killings.
This is all too familiar. Anyone who lived in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971 will testify that the Pakistan Army is very capable of indiscriminate murder and rape. Three million Bengalis died in 1971 at the hands of the barbaric Pakistan Army.
We know the old cliché: "What goes around, comes around."
The killings in Swat Valley would not be taking place if the 1971 war criminals, including members of the Pakistan Army, who committed genocide in Bangladesh in 1971, were tried by the International Criminal Court at The Hague. The Pakistan Army needs to learn to abide by international laws and norms in areas of conflict, even when dealing with the intolerant Taliban.
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