A policeman stands guard at a market in Mingora, in Swat Valley, Pakistan December 7, 2016. Picture taken December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Hazrat Ali Bacha
MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - When Pakistani shopkeeper Abdur Rahim's phone rang in mid-October, he was shocked to hear the voice of a senior militant commander demanding protection money from him and his fellow traders in the Swat Valley.
The menacing call was taken seriously in a northern pocket of the country where Pakistani Taliban insurgents took partial control in 2007, before being ousted two years later in a major military operation hailed as a telling blow against Islamist violence.
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