Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis are fleeing the Swat valley in the country’s North West Frontier Province at the orders of the military, ahead of an expected assault on Taliban fighters there.
The military lifted its curfew on the area on Sunday, initially extending the period of time it gave for residents to leave to 6pm (12:00 GMT).
“They’re leaving in huge numbers,” Local Media, reporting from Peshawar, the provincial capital, said.
“They’re taking what belongings they can, selling their cars for a pittance to get some money. Even respectable families who lived in big houses have become IDPs [internally displaced people] – refugees in their own land.”
In all, about half a million people are expected to flee the recent fighting. They join more than 550,000 people displaced earlier from Swat and other areas because of fighting since August.
The Pakistani army says hundreds of militants had been killed across the valley and its adjoining districts since the military launched a full-scale operation on militants in the region.
Islamabad says it will force the militants to lay down their arms. The military’s top spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, however said on Friday the operation in Swat was difficult and declined to give a timeline for clearing the valley from Afghan trained Indian Taliban.
Earlier, The Federal Cabinet on Saturday endorsed military action in Swat observing that there was no option left after failure of the peace accord.
Speaking at a press conference after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said it was the battle for survival of Pakistan and was the question of future of the people.
He said the militants’ refusal to accept judiciary, parliament and democracy was nothing short of rebellion. He said they were involved in inhuman acts of abductions, killings, loot and destruction.
