SWAT is all over international media these days. We all know why. The beautiful valley is witnessing a war between Pakistani troops and the Taliban, mostly Pashtuns (Pathans).  On May 7, when Srinagar Parliamentary constituency went to polls, I had a chance to visit our own little SWAT in Kashmir. The place very much resembles SWAT in terms of landscape, weather and more importantly the people. They, too, seem rugged, proud and unflinching. Typical of Pathans  . There is another natural similarity: the men enjoy complete sway over the daily affairs of life over women.  But they don’t flog them over flimsy excuses to exert their Pashtun culture which many misconstrue as Islamic Sharia. Kashmir’s SWAT, comprises a string of villages some 30 kms north-west of Srinagar in the foothills of Harmukh mountain range in the newly created Ganderbal district.  On the polling day I witnessed democracy typical of Pashtun style in some of these villages likes Wayil Wedar, Gotlibagh, Banjar, Baba Wayil and Chanihaar.  The place pales in comparison to the original Taliban country of Afghanistan, but many trappings of Afghan culture were in abundant display.  Impact of the boycott call by separatists was not visible much on the ground but only men had come to vote. In Wayil Weder only 9 women had pressed the EVM out of 276 voters.  Election staff said same was the trend across the Pashtun belt.

“Our women do not come out to vote. Of late you will find some women voters but that was not the case earlier,” said Shah Jahan Khan, a village elder.  The number of female Pashtun voters was negligible in comparison to their Kashmiri counterparts. Like their Pashtun brethren across the Durand Line-_the de facto border between Pakistan and Afghanistan_ the Pashtuns in Kashmir also hold Girjas_ public courts_ to address important issues. The Pashtuns migrated to Kashmir some 150 years back. They adopted Kashmir language and some part of its culture but the core of their existence still rests on the unflinching Pathan values. Segregation of sexes is strictly adhered to and their women observe completePurdahhunlike their less conservative Kashmiri neighbours. One male voter said they don’t mind women voting if there are separate booths for them. Of late more Pashtun girls go to school but higher studies are still a big NO.   Another welcome change is that older women face less restriction now. Zubaida Khan is a case in point. Her husband would vote for her earlier but no more. “Our male members of the family would caste our votes earlier not now,” she said.  I later found out that women who voted were mostly relatives of the poling agents.  And lastly they proved of some value to army as well. Recently when a Pashtun militant from Dir district of Malakand division in NWFP was arrested, sources said, army sought the help of Pashtuns from Gutlibagh to talk to him. Though the militant seemed well versed in Urdu  nonetheless army deemed it prudent to quiz him in his own tongue.

Separatist leader Abass Ansari’s effigies went up in flames in downtown after he urged militants not to invoke the gun against Parliament elections. The statement was certainly not his personal opinion as it was made to appear later. I sensed the doves, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had tried to conduct a test fire through him to gauge the public response on election boycott. But the reaction stunned them. The statement of united jehad council, a coalition of militant groups based in PoK urging people to boycott the elections also had its effect. After that the doves quickly changed the course and Mirwiaz called a press conference and at his palatial Nigeen lakeside view residence. For one hour he spoke about the K-issue (by the K also stands for core for Pakistanis) where he talked about Kashmir’s history and its misery .But the seed of his whole lecture was the need to boycott the elections. Like the ailing hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani , the young leader also thinks that centre uses elections to manipulate international opinion on Kashmir. He stressed that “Kashmiri people have not sacrificed their lives and honour for elections but for self determination and freedom”. Yet the word boycott somehow would not escape his lips. For the entire length of his speech the word boycott was not visible for miles all together. But then a reporter pressed Mirwaiz to use the word boycott for the sake of clarity, if he meant so. Then another reporter chipped in: Is Hurriyat launching a poll boycott campaign? That was a tricky one and it corned the young separatist leader. He replied in affirmative. “Yes, we are soon launching a door to door campaign,” he said.

Unlike rest of the country election fervor in Kashmir is missing. This comes after the historic assembly elections a few months back when Farooq Abdullah had feared total boycott .The assembly elections went off peacefully and more importantly a record number of voters surged the booths. I wonder whether something similar is in the offing for Parliament elections. Difficult to guess at this point in time after what I witnessed during the assembly elections. If people did show up in good numbers it would be an icing on the cake for center and mainstream parties (pro-India as they are called in local lingo) and double tragedy for separatists (pro-independence and pro-Pakistan) who are still smarting from the shock of assembly polls. Journalists and analysts are working their brains over time to reach a conclusion as to what will happen but it is the politicians who seem to have better idea. Perhaps they have felt the pulse of that silent voter in advance who surprised and shocked many in assembly polls. Judging by their statements, where in they lampoon and castigate their opponents, the politicians sound low on confidence but as usual high on rhetoric. So when chief minister Omar Abdullah said there is a threat from militants and they are taking no chances, Mehbooba Mufti, his sworn rival and president of PDP, said Omar was invoking the security threat to scare away the voters. Again when Omar requested his estranged aunt Khaida Shah, the widow of late GM Shah, who deposed Farooq Abdullah’s government in 1984, not to contest from Srinagar because they are wining the seat hands down, Mufti Muhammad Sayyed said rigging would lead to 1989 like situation. Yet neither Mehbooba nor Mufti is contesting. NC leaders say the father-daughter duo have read the graffiti and are making wild accusations to cover their slide. Amidst the entire tirade, news comes that Taliban militants have sneaked into Kashmir in Kupwara from across the line of control. I called an army officer to confirm their presence. The officer told me the army was still in the process of ascertaining whether some of the militants it has engaged during last two months are actually Taliban. The Taliban threat would sure create problems, not only from the security point of view but also because of the fear factor. Their dread precedes them for miles. That reminds me of the infamous Mast-e-Gul, the feared Pashtu speaking militant whose dread ran unchallenged in Chara-e-Sharief area of Budgam. Gul escaped the army dragnet in one of the most difficult and contentious operations   in which the shrine of Sheikh-Noor-ud-din Wali, an Islamic preacher, revered equally by Kashmiri Pandits and Muslims in 1995, was burnt to ashes. Surprisingly, both the Muftis and the Abdullahs -Omar and his father-have restrained from making any comments about Taliban. Whether Taliban have infiltrated is a matter of time but their dread is already working not on the people but on the politicians. Since the news of their reported presence filtered in, the Muftis’ and the Abdullahs’ have gone quite. That is a fearsome reputation for sure.