Alexander the Great crossed the Swat River with part of his army and, before turning south, subdued the locals at what are now Barikot and Udegram. His successors ceded Swat to the Mauryan dynasty. Under them and the later Kushan empire, Buddhism thrived here and it was probably the birthplace of Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism), which in the 7th century took root directly in Ladakh and Tibet. Even as Buddhism was declining in the rest of Gandhara it remained Swat’s prevailing religion until the 15th century despite Hindu, and then Muslim, arrivals.
By the 16th century the Yusufzai Pashtuns, driven before the advancing Mughal army of Babur, were the valley’s dominant tribe. With them came missionaries, forcefully converting Kohistanis to Islam.
Swat remained stiffly independent and chafed against British control from the 19th century. Hostilities erupted into open war in 1897 with the Malakand Uprising, in which a young Winston Churchill served as both soldier and cub reporter. In 1926 Swat was granted independent status under a Wali (ruler), and kept Pakistan at partial arm’s length following Partition. The Wali’s sovereignty was finally abolished in 1969 when Swat formally became part of NWFP.
Former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill and the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, were two of the valley’s more famous admirers. Jinnah coined the phrase “Switzerland of Pakistan” while Churchill, gazing down the valley from his mountain resort, once commented that all the inhabitants must be po
Swat’s premier Pameer Hotel initiated by renowned entrepreneur Late Haji Aziz Ur Rehman in 1980. It was a novel and historic feature, as it was the first private business venture that invested in expensive imported fittings.
Swat valley was bustling with tourist still it hit several blows from terrorists during the last two decades that brought the valley life to still and decimated the entire infrastructure of the once idyllic holiday resort.The tourism industry incurred incalculable losses running into billions. Thus, from being a premier hotel of its time, Pameer Hotel ran out of business.
After the operation was declared successful according to the Government of Pakistan and the Pak Army in July 2009,the owners of Pameer Hotel returned when the government announced ceasefire. People started to return to their homes in Swat.
It is a great pleasure to announce that we have succeeded in the re-opening of Pameer Hotel at Mingora, the heart and business hub of picturesque valley of Swat. Swat Valley has passed through a turbulent period of unrest and violence over the past couple of years. Thanks to Almighty that peace is now prevailing, which gave us a window of opportunity to completely renovate and refurbish the building including infrastructure to the standard Hotel. The aim of our undefinable determination has been successfully achieved by restoring its old galore and reputation that it enjoyed since its inauguration back in 1980 when it was considered as a landmark in the area.