Pakistanis stream from valley after curfew is lifted

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

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

The army offensive has garnered praise from U.S. officials, who want Pakistan to root out havens on its soil where Taliban militants can plan attacks on American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces across the border in Afghanistan. In an interview aired Sunday, Pakistan’s president urged international support for the fight and insisted that the army had enough troops in the northwest to handle the threat.

As they left Swat’s main town of Mingora, some residents cursed the situation and condemned the Taliban, but others blamed Pakistani leaders, accusing them of bowing to the West. “Show our picture to your master America and get money from him,” one 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. Some chided a reporter for slowing them down by asking questions.

“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 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 last 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.

In his interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Asif Ali Zardari brushed aside concerns that Pakistan’s armed forces are still too focused on a potential threat from longtime rival India.

He said the resources devoted to the fight against the Taliban -- 135,000 troops in the northwest, he estimated -- were sufficient.

“It’s a war of our existence,” Zardari said.