Failure to integrate Swat fully into Pakistan may have been the main cause of the unrest in this district since the late 1990s. Secondly, Local Government Reforms since 2001 opened up further space for militants by demolishing the magistracy system that maintained the writ of the state. The inter-connected religious, military and political history of the Pakhtun regions resonated with the Taliban’s call to Jihad. Issues of landless peasants and conflict between tenants and landlords, and demand for justice stoked the turbulence and created initial support for the militants. Their land redistribution schemes were partly popular among the dispossessed. The Taliban made effective use of radio broadcasts to gain supporters for their ideology, issued edicts and garnered donations. Women were particularly targeted through the Mullah FM radio. The military operation in Swat since 2009 has the support of the majority of the people.