Mingora and Saidu Sharif in 1969 - Tony Cunnane's Afterthoughts

Written on 23 May 2009

It has been sad for me to read about, and see on TV news reports, the troubles in Pakistan’s Swat Valley these last few days because I was there in 1969/70. I was an RAF exchange officer spending a year as a flying instructor at the Pakistan Air Force Academy at Risalpur, about mid-way between Islamabad and Peshawar on the Grand Trunk Road and only a few miles south of the Swat Valley.

Many of our general handling flying training sorties from Risalpur took place over the hills, which rose to over 20,000ft to the north of the airfield, but occasionally we flew on north past the hill town of Mardan, which was an easily recognised navigation point for student pilots and visible for many miles around, and on into the Swat valley. It was the most beautiful flying area I’ve ever come across. The Swat Valley is surrounded on all sides by high peaks of the magnificent and remote Hindu Kush mountains.

It was a public holiday on 5 December 1969 and two Pakistani flying instructors, Mehdi (who later became the Air Force Commander-in-Chief – didn’t he do well?) and Sheikh, took me in a car for a day out to Saidu Sharif and Mingora. From Risalpur the road climbed first to Mardan, now a much larger town than it was in 1969, then down into the green, fertile, Swat Valley. For miles the narrow twisting road followed the Swat River. The main towns, Saidu Sharif and Mingora, are both about 3,300 feet (1,000m) above sea level and were pleasantly cool. We continued on the road north of Mingora towards Malakand for several miles but then we had to turn back and start the return journey to Risalpur.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take my camera as the remote areas of the North West Frontier Province were deemed, even in 1969, to be sensitive areas. Furthermore, the Holy Month of Ramadan was nearing its end so there was no food or drink permitted throughout the daylight hours. Although, since I'm not a Muslim, I could have taken sandwiches and a bottle of water, I chose not to do so. Because of Fasting, there was an almost complete lack of people on the roads and in the towns and villages. It was very eerie and I felt we were intruding. We arrived back in Mardan at sunset so my two Muslim colleagues, and me, were able to break our fast there before completing the last few miles, downhill, to Risalpur.

What impressed me most, apart from the beauty of the valley and the impressive Hindu Kush peaks, was the sheer vastness of the area: Afghanistan off to the west, China to the north and Kashmir to the east. Years after my visit, the Swat Valley became  a popular tourist area, and rightly so, but now the tourists have all departed, as indeed many of the population have, with the Taliban trying to take over. The pictures I’ve just watched on TV of the Pakistan Army patrolling the bustling streets of Mingora bear no resemblance to the memories I have of the valley in happier times.

You can read more about my time at the PAF Academy on my web site starting here.