| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The gruesome scene of a young girl being flogged in public illustrates the brutal rule the Taliban have enforced in the Swat valley, raising serious questions about the government's policy of appeasement of militants trying to push the country back to the Dark Ages.
The two-minute video showing a black-turbaned man holding down the girl's feet, another her head while a third man hits her with a leather strap, has shaken the nation and exposed the brutal face of the illiterate mullahs holding sway in a large part of northwestern Pakistan.
The incident, which took place in Kabal district in January and surfaced only recently, is a stark reminder of where Pakistan is heading if the growing threat of Islamic extremism is not checked. The government and the military have surrendered the valley to the militants, who are responsible for the killing of hundreds of people. The so-called peace deal has legitimised the Taliban brutalities, and emboldened the radicals - who now aim to spread their influence to other parts of the country.
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