The people of the Swat Valley are voting with their feet. The prospect of a military offensive against Taliban fighters in their home area of Pakistan has already led thousands to gather everything they own and flee.
Far from seeing the imminent arrival of their army as a welcome liberation from the Taliban's medieval repression, ordinary Pakistanis are getting out of the way as quickly as possible. They know from bitter experience that Pakistan's army uses maximum firepower and overwhelming force against any enemy, heedless of the destruction this inflicts.
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