Where did they go?

A few years back, Hakimullah just listened attentively as a back bencher, but years on and he is the new commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  once headed by Baitullah Mehsud.

Today he and his men have a hefty price on their heads. After the Pakistani military launched a three-pronged attack on South Waziristan, his loyalists - said to be numbering in their thousands - have vanished into the rough terrain and are waiting for winter.

Most of the fighting is taking place at altitudes over 7,000 feet and soon, much of the ground here will be blanketed by first snows.

That will slow down ground movement and increase the dangers of ambush and roadside bomb attacks. Many fear the Pakistani Taliban will unleash a guerrilla war against the Pakistani army.

So far, the military has not encountered stiff resistance. The Pakistani Taliban were not ready for a do-or-die conventional battle with the Pakistani military forces, which has regained control of territory controlled by The Pakistani Taliban.