NEW YORK — Pakistani immigrants to the United States from the Swat Valley, where the Taliban has been battling Pakistani forces since 2007, say some of their families are singled out for threats, kidnapping and murder by Taliban forces, who view them as potential American collaborators.
Some immigrants also say they, too, have been threatened in the U.S. by the Taliban or its sympathizers, and some immigrants say they have been attacked or kidnapped when they have returned home.
The threats have brought an added dimension of suffering for the immigrants, who say reports of hardship arrive here every day.
The immigrants from Swat fear that their presence in America is endangering their relatives back home, where the Taliban have imposed their authority over much of the region.
Swati immigrants say they have been left with the sense that the more they try to help their families back home, the more harm they may do.
And few dare return to Pakistan for fear of losing the single largest income stream their families have.
The New York Times
