Terror Creep

Terror Creep [Excerpts]

From a base in the Swat Valley, Taliban influence and infiltration are spreading through a nuclear-armed nation.

The Pakistani government may have sincerely believed it could contain the Taliban by giving the extremist group a district to rule, but Pakistani Christians understand the Taliban's ultimate agenda. Taliban militants in Karachi's Taiser Town—hundreds of miles from the Taliban's newly obtained Swat Valley—chalked the homes and churches of local Christians with threats and slogans demanding that they pay the jizra, an Islamic tax for the protection of non-converts. When the Christian community washed the slogans from the buildings, dozens of armed militants arrived and shot three people execution style on April 22, including 11-year-old Irfan Masih, who died a few hours later.

Nestled in the North West Frontier Province, the Swat Valley is known as the “Switzerland of Pakistan” for its snow-capped mountains, lush meadow, and crystal-clear lakes. But few tourists have visited this region since the Taliban burned down its ski resort, banned education for girls, and destroyed more than 200 schools.

(Nelson, “Terror Creep,” World magazine, May 23, 2009, p. 36).