"He will kill us. He will throw acid on our face. He can do anything."

For a glimpse of the savage oppression involved in all this - and the great bravery of the people in the teeth of it - watch this brief New York Times documentary.

On the subject at hand, two views.

Mir Jamilur Rahman: "The Swat accord is not surrender and capitulation by the government, nor was the violence an insurgency for separation from Pakistan. It is a farfetched supposition that a different judicial system in Swat will lead to disintegration of the country. In fact, President Zardari, for the first time, has acted as a statesman rather than a politician. The insurgency was splitting the nation. It was damaging our newfound democracy. It was hampering our efforts against terrorism. If the agreement puts a stop to the mayhem, it is a substantive victory for the people of Pakistan."

Lakhkar Khan: "And what is the end result now? What is one to make of this deal? That Fazlullah has emerged victorious. And that both the federal and provincial governments are taking credit for the promulgation of Sharia in Swat. As for the people, they see this as nothing but an abject surrender to the forces of obscurantism and darkness, a surrender which presents a bleak future for the people of the area."

And that is the choice the fucking "free world" has abandoned these people to make, on their own.

From that mini-documentary, Malala, a young girl: "They cannot stop me. I will get my education, if it is in home, school, or any place. This is our request to all the world, that save our world, save our schools, save Pakistan. Save our Swat."

Swat Valley Zindabad.