Ski resort razed by Taliban lifts Pakistan's domestic tourism

MALAM JABBA, PAKISTAN - Atop the piste of Malam Jabba in Pakistan's once dangerous Swat Valley, skiers schuss downhill, a new Chinese-built chairlift ferries tourists to the peak and a luxury hotel is under construction to replace one torched by the Taliban.

The Taliban declared skiing "un-Islamic" during their 2007-2009 reign of terror over Swat, but improved security in recent years has allowed ski tourism to re-emerge on Malam Jabba, a hill station in the Hindu Kush mountain range.

Locals tout Swat as "the Switzerland of Pakistan", with an international ski tournament held there in January.