Fazlullah was luckier—he was released after 17 months in prison. But he could not revive the TNSM immediately because the Musharraf government's ban on the organisation in January 2002 had driven its activists underground. The TNSM had also lost popular support because its Afghan misadventure resulted in the death of hundreds of youngsters from Swat. Then came the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005, enabling Fazlullah's TNSM to recover lost ground by organising commendable relief work. Simultaneously, he deftly exploited the sentiments of those who saw the quake as a divine retribution for their sins. Even as TNSM activists provided succour to people, they convinced them to burn their invaluable TV sets lest they incur Allah's wrath again. Not only did he bring Swat under his sway, his influence spread to the adjoining Malakand district and the Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The US occupation of Afghanistan roiled sentiments here, further bolstering TNSM's support base. Sources in intelligence agencies say jehadi groups, including the TNSM, provided sanctuary to militants operating in Afghanistan. This prompted the Americans to fire a missile at the TNSM seminary in Bajaur on October 30, 2006, killing 82, including seminary head Maulana Liaquat. His elder brother and TNSM leader Faqir Mohammed promised to avenge the killing of innocents. Response was swift: a week later, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Punjab Regimental Centre training school at Dargai, near Peshawar, killing 45.
The retaliation boosted the TNSM's popularity. Riding its crest, Maulana Fazlullah appealed on his FM channel for donations to build a TNSM madrassa in Iman Dheri. The people of Swat and adjoining areas contributed Rs 38 lakh in just 24 hours. Spread on the bank of the river Swat, the madrassa is 80 per cent complete; the amount collected: a whopping Rs 35 million. Emboldened, his organisation established a veritable parallel administration in several tehsils, taking down the Pakistani flag and replacing it with a white pennant.
When the Pak army began its military operation, Fazlullah asked his people over the radio to resist the soldiers deployed to kill the innocent. Three days later, two suicide bombers rammed their car into a military truck in Mangora, killing 33 soldiers. At least 10 security personnel have been beheaded publicly.
But human rights activist Asma Jahangir, currently in custody, says she isn't impressed by the Pak army's attempt to wipe out the TNSM, saying the battle in Swat echoes the bloody firefight against the radical maulanas of Islamabad's Lal Masjid—the state spawns the Islamists to achieve its goals and crushes them at its convenience. She and others note another irony: the army flounders in Swat but flexes its muscle against the media and unarmed civilians opposed to Emergency. Not really the prescription for tackling radical Islam.
