AMAZING SWAT VALLEY OF PAKISTAN MALALA HOME

1. Swat (سوات ) is one the most beautiful districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The capital of Swat is Saidu Sharif. Mingora is the main city of Swat. Each and every part of the swat is worth to visit. However the most attractive tourist spots are Marghazar, Fizagat Park, Malam Jabba, Miandam, Madyan, Behrain, kalam, Usho, Utror, Gabral and Mahodand etc.

2. Swat District (Pashto: سوات ولسوالۍ‎, Urdu: ضِلع سوات‎) pronounced [ˈswaːt̪]) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Swat is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty. Centred upon the upper portions of the Swat River, Swat was a major centre of early Buddhist thought as part of the Gandhara kingdom, and today is littered with ruins from that era. Swat was home to the last isolated pockets of Gandharan Buddhism, which lasted until the 11th century, well after most of the area had converted to Islam. Until 1969, Swat was part of the Yusafzai State of Swat, a self-governing princely state. The region was seized by the Pakistani Taliban in late 2007, and its tourist industry decimated until Pakistani control over Swat was re-established in mid 2009.

3. Swat's capital is Saidu Sharif, though the largest city, and main commercial centre, is the nearby city of Mingora. With a population of 2,309,570 according to the 2017 census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The region is inhabited largely by Pashtun people, except in the valley's uppermost reaches, where the Kohistani people dominate.

4. Swat's average elevation is 980 m (3,220 ft), resulting in a considerably cooler and wetter climate compared to most of Pakistan. With lush forests, verdant alpine meadows, and snow-capped mountains, Swat is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.

5. Geography of the Rigveda; the extent of the Swat and Cemetery H cultures are indicated. The name "Swat" is of Sanskrit origin. One theory derives it from "Suvastu", the ancient name of the Swat River (Suastus in Greek literature); "Suvastu" literally means "clear azure water", and is attested in the earliest Sanskrit text, the Rigveda. Another theory derives the word Swat from the Sanskrit word "Shveta" (white), also used to describe the clear water of the Swat River.

6. Mingora is the largest city in Swat. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great fought his way to Odigram and Barikot and stormed their battlements. In Greek accounts these towns have been identified as Ora and Bazira. Around the 2nd century BC, the area was occupied by Buddhists, who were attracted by the peace and serenity of the land. There are many remains that testify to their skills as sculptors and architects. Later some Dilazak entered the area along with Sultans from Kunar and their tribe was styled as Swatis. The originator of the present family of Swat was the Muslim saint Akhund Abdul Gaffur, more commonly known as Saidu Baba. He was a pious man and the people respected him so greatly that they called him Akhund Sahib.


7. Arrival of Yousafzais. The first Muslim arrivals in Swat were Pakhtun Dilazak tribes from south-east Afghanistan. These were later ousted by Swati Pakhtuns, who was succeeded in the sixteenth century by Yusufzai Pakhtuns. Both groups of Pakhtuns came from the Kandahar and Kabul valley.

8. Taliban destruction of Buddhist relics. Swat Valley, located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, has many Buddhist carvings, statues, and stupas. The town of Jehanabad contains a Seated Buddha statue. Kushan era Buddhist stupas and statues in Swat valley were demolished by the Taliban, and after two attempts by the Taliban, the Jehanabad Buddha's face was dynamited. Only the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, which the Taliban also demolished, were larger than the Buddha statue in Swat.The government did nothing to safeguard the statue after the initial attempt at destroying the Buddha, which did not cause permanent harm; when the second attack took place on the statue, the feet, shoulders, and face were demolished.[26] Islamists (particularly the Taliban) and looters destroyed many of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts, which dated to the Buddhist Gandhara civilization.

9. The Taliban deliberately targeted Gandhara Buddhist relics for destruction. Gandhara artifacts were thereafter plundered by thieves and smugglers. In 2009, the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Diocsece of Lahore, Lawrence John Saldanha, wrote a letter to Pakistan's government denouncing the Taliban activities in Swat Valley, including their destruction of Buddha statues, and their attacks on Christians, Sikhs, and Hindus. A group of Italians helped repair the Buddha.

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