Swat villagers flee as military tackles Taliban

Standing at the roadside in Hasan Abdal, a town 50km from Islamabad, Amina Jan recalled an ordeal that began on Tuesday when officials in the Swat valley, Pakistan, relaxed a curfew and urged local people to leave quickly in anticipation of a military offensive.

Ms Jan, 35, wiped away tears and told of her escape from Swat with her four children as the military stepped up its efforts this week to block the most formidable Taliban advance in Pakistan’s history.
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“It was all a nightmare in an area where people live in fear; an area which was very calm just months ago,” said Ms Jan, one of thousands fleeing the lush mountainous region once the destination of honeymoon couples. People took advantage of a break in the curfew to leave the area as Taliban positions came under air attack.

Last night Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, said more troops had been ordered into battle. “The armed forces have been called in to eliminate the militants and terrorists.”

The government’s handling of Swat has become a test of its resolve against the Taliban insurgency. Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s president, assured Barack Obama on Wednesday of Islamabad’s commitment to defeating al-Qaeda and its allies.

For Ms Jan, first came the difficult decision of leaving behind her husband, who insisted on staying to protect the family’s three-room house next to their grocery.

Then came the challenge of hiring a taxi on a day when drivers raised the fare to Rps20,000 ($250, €186, £166), or five times the rate for a trip to Islamabad.

“There were plenty more people desperate to leave.” Instead of cash, Ms Jan traded jewellery for a ride for herself and her children.

Officials in North-West Frontier province believe three-quarters of a million or more people could be displaced by the fighting.

A senior United Nations official warned that a large-scale displacement caused by the intensifying military conflict could present Pakistan with “its second largest disaster in the 21st century since the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir”, in which up to 80,000 people were killed.

“The worst-case scenario is a nightmare,” he said last night. “Much depends on how intense in the conflict and how long it continues.”

Karam Swati, a teacher, shared his account of boarding a tractor-driven trolley to leave his village after midnight when it was taken over by the Taliban.

“The Taliban came and seized every government building. They then pronounced that they were the new law and not the Pakistani government,” said Mr Swati, 60.

While the prospect of a Taliban advance causes deep concern across the world and in Pakistan’s main cities, opinion among many of the evacuees is mixed.

“The Taliban did not go from door to door to attack people. They only wanted to bring in moral values,” said Munawar Khan, a farmer, who fled Swat to get away from the military campaign.

Having fled their homes, villagers are often faced with a fresh struggle in the cities.

Waheed Zaman, 12, shows his bruised knuckles as he recalls his arrest last month by policemen in Islamabad.

“I held on to a water pipe and refused to go with them. They used sticks to beat my knuckles,” said the child, who remains traumatised.

Waheed is one of the six children of Jameela, who fled Swat last month to escape not only the abuse at the hands of her second husband, who forcibly married her after her first husband was killed last year when the Taliban blew up a petrol station, but also the approaching Taliban.

But her husband kept her national identity card. “My son was arrested by the police while he was picking rubbish from a garbage dump. The police took him away, claiming that he had no identity papers. Where do I get my papers?” she said.

Riayatullah Khan, a human rights activist who is putting pressure on the government to provide food and shelter for those fleeing Swat, laments the inaction.

“Does anyone in the government realise that we are about to witness an emerging humanitarian tragedy?” said Mr Khan. “Unless the government immediately begins preparations and allocates resources, there will be a major disaster.”