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DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Fed up and disillusioned, Sharaf Khan says he has lived in misery for years, a pawn between Taliban gangs and the Pakistani military whose previous offensives ended in stalemate.
There is no likelihood of this operation being a success. Its just for show, said the 45-year-old shepherd, whose familys meagre belongings are crammed into a minivan.
We have spent the last four or five years living in misery. As far as we are concerned, neither the army nor Taliban are any good. Khan, married with an 18-month-old child, was speaking after an exhausting three-day journey with his family across mountain paths to circumvent army checkpoints, road closures and night-time curfews.
He is one of at least 110,500 people who have fled South Waziristan where the army launched a massive operation that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says is poised to deliver a decisive blow against the Islamist insurgents.
But those who have been caught up in previous military pushes in Pakistans lawless tribal belt, which lies outside direct government control and has a fierce warrior culture, are sceptical.
It seems like a drama whose characters are troops and Taliban but we are the one who really do suffer in this situation, said Aamanullah Mehsud, a father of six children.
The 55-year-old farmer, who comes from the Kanigurram region, a Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, said he had fled with 15 family members.
There was very heavy bombardment in our area. Children were crying because the sound was deafening, he said.
Those who make it to Dera Ismail Khan, which neighbours Waziristan, try to stuff as much as they can into the pickup trucks and minivans that ferry them to safety.
As well as wooden cots, bedding and cooking utensils, some have even brought their goats and chicken with them.
Every vehicle had 12-14 passengers crammed inside, most of them women and children.
Many complained of pain and exhaustion after having had to cover part of their journey by foot. Others picked up stomach bugs after having no option but to drink muddy water.
The journey between the towns of Jandola and Tank should normally take six hours but the army closed the main road and Tank itself is under curfew.
Mohammad Yasin, another farmer who has made it to Dera Ismail Khan from Kanigurram, said his journey with 14 relatives including five children had taken three days.
Limping from the injuries he suffered in a bombing raid in 2004, Yasin said fellow villagers were wounded in front of his eyes as a result of air strikes.
People from our village hired six vehicles and the jets started bombing soon after we left. Two vehicles in front of us were totally destroyed. We saw wounded people and we were told 11 people died.
Military operations have never been successful in the area. If they want success they need local help but the people do not support the offensive. Trying to sow division, the military air-dropped leaflets urging Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsuds own tribe to rise up and fight alongside the army.
The aim of the army is to provide an opportunity to the Mehsud tribe to live in peace and tranquility, said the flyers.
But rather than stay to fight, large numbers are leaving the war zone to seek shelter with relatives or in rented accommodation.
Pakistani and UN officials say 110,500 people have fled South Waziristan since August. But Gul Afzal Afridi, district police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, believes the number is up to 150,000.
For the moment he expects them to head back to their villages when there is some respite.
We have no plan to set up camps because these people do not want to live in camps, he told. AFP
There is no likelihood of this operation being a success. Its just for show, said the 45-year-old shepherd, whose familys meagre belongings are crammed into a minivan.
We have spent the last four or five years living in misery. As far as we are concerned, neither the army nor Taliban are any good. Khan, married with an 18-month-old child, was speaking after an exhausting three-day journey with his family across mountain paths to circumvent army checkpoints, road closures and night-time curfews.
He is one of at least 110,500 people who have fled South Waziristan where the army launched a massive operation that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says is poised to deliver a decisive blow against the Islamist insurgents.
But those who have been caught up in previous military pushes in Pakistans lawless tribal belt, which lies outside direct government control and has a fierce warrior culture, are sceptical.
It seems like a drama whose characters are troops and Taliban but we are the one who really do suffer in this situation, said Aamanullah Mehsud, a father of six children.
The 55-year-old farmer, who comes from the Kanigurram region, a Taliban stronghold of South Waziristan, said he had fled with 15 family members.
There was very heavy bombardment in our area. Children were crying because the sound was deafening, he said.
Those who make it to Dera Ismail Khan, which neighbours Waziristan, try to stuff as much as they can into the pickup trucks and minivans that ferry them to safety.
As well as wooden cots, bedding and cooking utensils, some have even brought their goats and chicken with them.
Every vehicle had 12-14 passengers crammed inside, most of them women and children.
Many complained of pain and exhaustion after having had to cover part of their journey by foot. Others picked up stomach bugs after having no option but to drink muddy water.
The journey between the towns of Jandola and Tank should normally take six hours but the army closed the main road and Tank itself is under curfew.
Mohammad Yasin, another farmer who has made it to Dera Ismail Khan from Kanigurram, said his journey with 14 relatives including five children had taken three days.
Limping from the injuries he suffered in a bombing raid in 2004, Yasin said fellow villagers were wounded in front of his eyes as a result of air strikes.
People from our village hired six vehicles and the jets started bombing soon after we left. Two vehicles in front of us were totally destroyed. We saw wounded people and we were told 11 people died.
Military operations have never been successful in the area. If they want success they need local help but the people do not support the offensive. Trying to sow division, the military air-dropped leaflets urging Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsuds own tribe to rise up and fight alongside the army.
The aim of the army is to provide an opportunity to the Mehsud tribe to live in peace and tranquility, said the flyers.
But rather than stay to fight, large numbers are leaving the war zone to seek shelter with relatives or in rented accommodation.
Pakistani and UN officials say 110,500 people have fled South Waziristan since August. But Gul Afzal Afridi, district police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, believes the number is up to 150,000.
For the moment he expects them to head back to their villages when there is some respite.
We have no plan to set up camps because these people do not want to live in camps, he told. AFP
