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PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Every night around 8 o'clock, the terrified residents of Swat, a lush and picturesque valley a hundred miles from three of Pakistan's most important cities, crowd around their radios. They know that failure to listen and learn might lead to a lashing — or a beheading. Hundreds gathered Jan. 11 in Swat to watch drug dealers punished. The Taliban also have made it a crime to shave a beard. Using a portable radio transmitter, a local Taliban leader, Shah Doran, on most nights outlines newly proscribed "un-Islamic" activities in Swat, like selling DVDs, watching cable television, singing and dancing, criticizing the Taliban, shaving beards and allowing girls to attend school. He also reveals names of people the Taliban have recently killed for violating their decrees — and those they plan to kill. "They control everything through the radio," said one Swat resident, who declined to give his name for fear the Taliban might kill him. ...

SWAT, known for its green meadows, gushing river and snow-capped mountains, has unfortunately come to relive its historic name, Suvastu — the white serpent — whose tenacity and viciousness has stung the political and military leadership so badly that both are now looking for new ways to put a lid on the monster of growing bloodshed and reclaim its fast-shrinking territory. The idyllic valley has gone really bad, its image distorted beyond recognition. Pakistan's most popular tourist destination is now haunted by death and fear; few officials now dare to go and serve there. Nearly 800 policemen — half of the total sanctioned strength of police in Swat, have either deserted or proceeded on long leave on one pretext or the other. Only one of the 600 police recruits trained by the military at the Punjab Regimental Centre in Mardan, volunteered to go and serve, while the others plainly refused to head to what is now being called the 'valley of death'. The second phase of the mil...