95 percent of the people are in favour of Sharia in Bajaur

Things are bad back home, says school director Said Nabi Said, one of thousands of Pakistanis who have fled into Afghanistan to escape an offensive against Al-Qaeda-linked militants. "The Pakistani government bombed us with airplanes and artillery strikes to punish the people of Bajaur for having good relations with the militants," said the 27-year-old just across the border in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province. "Since the start of the fighting two months ago, the situation is critical: thousands of houses have been destroyed and hundreds of civilian people, mostly women and children, were killed," he claimed. Around him in the village of Shultan, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Pakistan, several hundred people -- not a woman among them -- gathered for food handouts from the International Committee of the Red Cross. They are among about 20,000 people whom the United Nations refugee agency says have fled the Pakistan military operation against Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked Islamic militants in the Bajaur tribal region. The exodus marks a reversal of history: about eight million Afghans fled mostly to Pakistan over the 30 years of conflict that destroyed their country, from Soviet invasion to civil war. Among this new batch of refugees are Afghans who lived in exile in Pakistan for more than 20 years. Islamabad has ordered all 60,000 Afghans in Bajaur to leave, saying they may be involved in militant activities. "I had a house and land in Afghanistan but I left for Pakistan in 1980," said 45-year-old Mohammad Hachem. "Now the house is destroyed, the land is not cultivated ... so I stayed in Pakistan." Like the others, he is staying with relatives, in his case his parents. Whichever side of the border they come from, these people all belong to same Pashtun tribe, the Mamound. Kunar and Bajaur are separated only by two hours of twisting road through imposing mountains. In one Kunar district, Shigal, about two-thirds of the 11,000 newcomers are Pakistanis and one-third Afghans, according to Patrick Schwaerzler of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "We belong to the same nation, the same tribe," said Said."Look at him," he said, pointing to another man. "He's Afghan, I'm Pakistani, he's my cousin. We have land both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. You want to separate us? It's like splitting a body in two."Hachem said many of the homes here were occupied by four to five families. "They share their food with us, but of course it is not much. They do their best... but what we have is not our own," he said. The refugees had asked the government to give them their own camp but there had been no reply, he said. All say they miss the much higher standard of living in Pakistan with modern roads, 24-hour power, schools and cheaper food. "In Bajaur, we were running shops, doing good business. Here we are helpless, we have no job, no money, no regular income," said 25-year-old shopkeeper Ghafoor, sporting an impressive beard like most men around him. But returning home is not possible while the fighting continues, with artillery fire heard the previous night.The Pakistani authorities, supported by the United States, say Bajaur is a base for Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants fighting troops across the border in Afghanistan and supported by various tribes and insurgent groups. The refugees agree that the Taliban hold sway in Bajaur but say they do not mind because they enforce the law. "Militants wanted to enforce Islamic Sharia law, which provides order and security. Ninety-five percent of the people are in favour of Sharia in Bajaur -- we are very strict Muslims," said Said."But now everybody is against militants, fighting is not a solution to the problem, it is destroying the region. Before, the militants didn't want to fight Pakistani soldiers. They went to Afghanistan to fight foreign soldiers."  Further along, refugees collect parcels of about 70 kilograms (154 pounds) of rice, beans, oil, sugar, salt and tea after showing their registration cards. The distribution goes smoothly, unlike the day before when people scrambled to get on Red Cross lists, said the head of this mission, Abdul Karim Azizi. "They try to take advantage on us, some trying to be registered several times, even sending kids (to sign up)," he said. To calm the tensions in a situation in which it is difficult to tell refugee from resident, the relief agency divided the rations so they could feed 4,400 families instead of the 2,200 initially on the list. But schoolboy Zia-ul-Hak, who is sharing a house with 40 other people, has other worries. "I haven't been in school for two months," he said sadly. And doctor Shamroz Khan, himself a refugee from Pakistan, said he was concerned the overcrowding could could breed other problems. "They are mainly treated for infections, diarrhoea, dysentery," he said in a shack that serves as a consulting room."People are living in crowded place and I fear an epidemic. They are also affected by chemicals from artillery rounds and bombs."