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Militants fail to destroy Buddhist carvings in Swat

MINGORA: Pro-Taliban militants failed in another attempt to blow up rock carvings of Buddha in Swat district, police said on Saturday.

The militants, late Saturday night, tried to destroy the Buddha carvings through powerful explosives but failed in their attempt in the Jahanabad area of Swat Valley.

Previously, pro-Taliban militants tried to destroy the carvings on September 12 but only succeeded in partially damaging them. The incident recalled the internationally condemned destruction of the huge Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime in 2001.

Police sources said shrapnel from the blast hit the rock but didn’t damage the Buddhist images. “It appears to be the work of the local militants who condemn these relics as being un-Islamic,” police said.

Elsewhere, unidentified militants blew up two barbershops in the Manja area of Kabal tehsil in Swat Valley late Saturday night. Barbers Amjad and Rahmat Ali told Daily Times that before the attack, they both received threatening letters from unknown militants warning them to stop their un-Islamic business or face bombing. “We were punished for not obeying militant orders,” they said. staff report

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