PAKISTAN: Exodus From Swat as 'War' Breaks Out

• by Zofeen Ebrahim (karachi)
• Wednesday, May 13, 2009
• Inter Press Service

Like so many other residents, Khan said he expected a major showdown between the military and the Taliban in the coming days. 'This time the civilian casualties will be high,' he said.

Part of his prediction seems to be spot on.

Security forces are bombarding militants taking refuge in homes of residents who have fled in thousands, so mercifully civilian casualties will be less.

However, another disaster seems to be unfolding.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) the figure of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) is 360,600.

Manuel Bessler, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of a further influx of IDPs if the crisis persists for much longer.

'We have to be prepared to assist up to 800,000 in addition to the already pre-existing 500,000,' AFP quoted Bessler as saying.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said: 'Winning the war, but also the peace, in Swat can only be achieved by minimising civilian suffering.'

Noted for its beauty, Swat - 150 kilometres northeast of Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province - with a population of 1.8 million, has become a hotbed for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an Islamist group, over the last two years.

'The Taliban have dug up the entire city and placed landmines,' said Saud Zaman, an advocate living in Mingora. 'It’s going to be a bloody battle this time,' he echoed Khan’s sentiment.

The army launched air and ground attacks against 7,000 or so Taliban on the night of 5 May. 'It was terrifying and we did not sleep a wink,' said Zaman.

Battle lines were drawn after the militants announced an end to a tenuous peace deal.

All this while President Asif Ali Zardari was meeting with U.S. President Barrack Obama, to get Pakistan’s much-needed economic lifeline back on- track.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s foreign minister termed Zardari’s four- day visit 'fruitful' and 'timely.'

And indeed it was.

The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations approved 1.9 billion dollars of aid for counter-insurgency and economic and security aid.

The U.S. Senate has also taken up a bill - sponsored by Senator John Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Richard Lugar - to triple American economic assistance to Pakistan, to 1.5 billion dollars a year for the next five years.

Lugar, however, made it clear that it was not 'a blank cheque' and stressed that the U.S. would expect 'tangible progress in governance' and that the money would be used for combating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

As expected, the aid comes with many strings attached - one of which is giving India a land route to trade with Afghanistan.

For years, Pakistan has stood firm and not conceded to this demand and has linked it to resolution of the Kashmir issue.

The undoing of the peace pact has partially allayed Washington’s fears that Islamabad is serious about taking a firmer stance against the Taliban.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the military offensive against the Taliban was a positive sign. 'I’m actually quite impressed by the actions the Pakistani government is now taking,' she said.

The mass exodus in Swat started when Swat’s district coordinator, Khushal Khan Khattak, made an announcement on 6 May asking residents to leave the area because security forces may engage militants and they wanted to avoid civilian casualties.

The order was rescinded the same day, but three days later, it was again announced. But, with little relaxation in curfews and no transport arrangements to take residents out of Swat, many remain trapped.

Prakash Kaur, 40, told IPS that she walked for four hours with her two year old before she got a ride.

Forty-two year old Surinder Kuumar, belonging to the Sikh community, and a medical technician by profession said: 'I was lucky I had a car, but on the way I saw hundreds and thousands of people on foot. Seeing them in this helpless condition, tears started rolling down my eyes.'

He narrated his ordeal to IPS. The previous night, his neighbour had buried his teenage son who did not survive the shelling that hit his house. 'I heard him cry in pain but could not leave my house as there was heavy firing going on. He did not survive the night and in the morning, I saw him being buried. There were just three people at his burial rite, his father, mother and sister,' said Kumar.

For its part the Pakistan army - this time around - is trying to regain its lost glory, after two years of dismal performance in combating the militants.

There are up to 15,000 troops deployed in Swat to tackle some 5,000 militants.

Interior minister, Rehman Malik said more than 700 militants have been killed in the last week.

However, the figure remained unverifiable and no information is given about civilian casualties.

According to army spokesperson Athar Abbas, the Pakistan army began dropping its troops in the Peochar area, in Swat, which is used by militants for combat training and training of suicide bombers.

For the first time, there seems to be a growing hatred for the Taliban and their version of Islam.

'My seven-year old son refuses to go to a madrassa, because he said there will be Taliban there, and he’s dead scared of these long-haired infidels,' said Mirza Ali, a resident of Buner, working as a chauffeur in a private bungalow in Karachi. His wife and seven children reached the southern port city on 5 May.

'The Taliban have wrought havoc with our lives. Our people are terrified for what they have done in Swat,' said Ali. 'This is wheat harvest time and our standing crop will be destroyed. If things had been normal, I would have been in my village, but everyone has fled. Can you imagine what a loss it is for all of us?'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service