By ZAHID HUSSAIN
ISLAMABAD -- Thousands of panicked residents on foot and crammed in buses, vans and trucks fled Swat valley north of Pakistan's capital Tuesday following the breakdown of a fragile truce between government forces and the Taliban.
Authorities lifted a curfew for a few hours to allow residents to evacuate as the militants took control of Mingora, the main town of the valley, which lies about 100 miles from Islamabad. Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for North West Frontier Province, which includes Swat, said he expects as many as 500,000 to flee in the near future.
Khushal Khan, head of the local administration, urged residents to leave their homes before evening as fighting between the army and militants broke out once again. Pakistan's military has been fighting the Taliban in Swat after each side accused the other of failing to honor the terms of a peace accord struck in February to end the conflict in Swat in return for the imposition of Sharia law.
Tuesday's exodus worsened a humanitarian problem stemming from the displacement of more than half a million people from Pakistan's lawless tribal region near the Afghan border and in parts of North West Frontier Province where security forces have been check the militants' efforts to expand their influence.
Taliban fighters patrolled the streets and some others took positions on the roof tops of the hotels and other buildings in Mingora, which has a population of more than 300,000. Residents said the insurgents attacked a police station where some troops were also based. Mr. Khan said the Taliban also planted mines.
Military officials said 8,000 to 10,000 troops were ready to launch an offensive against the militants since they have refused to give up their arms -- a requisite of the peace accord.
As the tension mounted in Swat, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary Jeep Tuesday, in Bara outside Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province. The blast killed five people and wounded several others, including schoolchildren waiting for a school van.
Many refugees from Swat and neighboring districts are living in crowded camps set up by the government in various parts of North West Frontier Province. The camps lack even basic facilities. There are thousands of women and children living without shelter. Others are living with relatives or have made their way to Karachi and Islamabad to search for work.
"We don't know when we can return home," said Bakht Rawan, a school teacher who fled his home with his wife and five children last week.
Mr. Hussain, the provincial information minister, said his government has no resources to deal with such a massive refugee problem. He called upon the federal government and the international community to help. "We have not received any funds from the federal government so far," he told reporters in Peshawar.
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