Pakistan's former Taliban haven hosting golf competition

After a break of about 20 years, a golf tournament started today in the former Taliban stronghold of Swat in northwestern Pakistan.
The tourney is being played at Sedar Golf Club in Kabal, which was the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban till they were expelled from the picturesque valley after a bloody military operation in 2009.
The three-day Swat Open golf contest has been jointly organised by the civil administration and army, which has been permanently stationed in the area to forestall any comeback by the rebels.
A total of 54 professionals, 27 senior professionals and 45 amateurs are participating in the contest, one of the biggest sporting events held in Swat since the ouster of the Taliban.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Golf Association secretary Shahdat Imtiaz told media that it was first gold event since 1992, when an uprising by radical cleric Sufi Mohammed to implement Shariah or Islamic law ended almost all recreational activities.
"We want to give a message to the people through the tournament that Swat is peaceful now and anyone can come to stay or see places without any fear," he said.

The Kabal gold ground was set up by Miangul Auranzeb, the former ruler of the princely state of Swat, in 1964. It is one of the biggest golf parks spread over 122 acres.
It was the favourite ground of former military ruler Zia-ul-Haq, who ruled Pakistan with an iron hand in the 1980s and played a key rule in spreading extremist and jihadi ideology in the region.

Swat, referred to as the Switzerland of Pakistan, was run as a semi-independent state till it amalgamation with the rest of the country in 1969.