ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani forces were continuing their assault on the Taliban on Tuesday as the country's leader flew to Washington to discuss strategy against the militant group with U.S. President Barack Obama.
uthorities in Swat lifted a curfew Tuesday between 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to allow residents to leave the area, Swat District Coordination Officer Khushal Khan said. He noted that after Wednesday "there will be no time" for evacuations.
The provincial government is planning to set up six new camps for the displaced people, in addition to existing camps in and around Peshawar, according to a North West Frontier Province spokesman.
Some 500,000 civilians are expected to flee the troubled Swat Valley, heeding a government evacuation order issued Tuesday ahead of the expected offensive in the Taliban-dominated region.
The Pakistani government has been criticized for not cracking down on militants along its border with Afghanistan. The militant activity in the border region has led the U.S. military to carry out its own airstrikes against militant targets in Pakistan. However those strikes have rankled relations between the two countries.
Pakistan has asked the United States to supply its forces with helicopters, communication equipment and night-vision technology as part of a U.S. plan to beef up the country's counterterrorism efforts.
Obama told reporters last week that he was "gravely concerned about the situation in Pakistan."
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