Pakistan exodus continues as conflict rages

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.

The haemorrhaging of residents from a scenic valley that once attracted hordes of tourists threatened to greatly exacerbate an existing internal refugee crisis for a nuclear-armed nation already facing economic, political and other woes.

The army offensive garnered praise from the US, which wants Pakistan to root out havens on its soil where Taliban militants can plan attacks on American and Nato forces across the border in Afghanistan.

In a television interview aired Sunday, US Central Command chief General David Petraeus said Pakistan’s actions the next few weeks could prove pivotal to its future.

As they left Swat’s main town of Mingora, some residents cursed the situation and condemned the Taliban, while others blamed Pakistani leaders for bowing to the West. “Show our picture to your master America and get money from him,” some taunted.

The desperate Swat residents were trying to leave any way they could – on motorbikes, animal-pulled carts, rickshaws or foot.

A ban on civilian vehicles entering the valley complicated the exodus for those without cars.

“We are going out only with our clothes and a few things to eat on the long journey,” said Rehmat Alam, a 40-year-old medical technician walking out of Mingora with 18 other relatives. “We just got out relying on God because there is no one else to help us.”

Fighter jets and helicopter gunships have pounded Swat and surrounding districts over the past few days after Taliban fighters in the valley moved out and tried to impose their reign in other areas, including a stretch just 60 miles from the capital, Islamabad.

The army’s nine-hour suspension of the curfew yesterday could signal a more intense operation now that more civilians have left.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said 400 to 500 militants had been killed since the operation’s full-scale launch last week.

Much of the latest fighting occurred along the periphery of Swat and Shangla, a neighbouring district, he said, and at least 140 bodies of alleged militants were discovered at a militant training camp in that area.

Police said a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing four civilians and a member of the Frontier Constabulary security force.

Police official Arif Khan said several other people also were wounded in the attack today.

The bombing occurred between the main northwest city of Peshawar and the town of Darra Adam Khel.

Scores of such attacks have rattled Pakistan’s northwest in recent years. The region lies along the Afghan border, and militants including al-Qaida operate throughout it.