Tens of thousands of civilians, many on foot or donkey-led carts, took advantage of a lifted curfew to flee Pakistan’s embattled Swat Valley, while the army said it had killed 400 to 500 militants in its battle against the Taliban.

A SUICIDE bomber blew himself up yesterday at a large meeting called by tribal elders pushing for peace in north-western Pakistan, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100, said witnesses and officials.

A suicide bomber attacked an anti al-Qaida peace meeting attended by thousands of tribe members in north-western Pakistan today, killing at least 40 people in the third suicide blast in the region in as many days.