Pakistan's 2 million displaced start returning home

13/07/2009| IslamWeb

The Pakistani government Monday began sending home about 2 million people displaced two months ago by the army's assault on Taliban fighters in the Swat valley.

The army says it has pushed the Taliban out of their former bastion northwest of Islamabad, and the government is keen to move the displaced back to their homes.

The Swat exodus was one of the biggest human migrations of recent times, stretching Pakistan's resources to breaking point and prompting a global appeal for humanitarian help.

The army launched the offensive in April after fighters took over a district just 100 km (60 miles) from Islamabad.

In the dusty tent camp of Jalozai, already baking hot in the early morning sun, buses and trucks were lined up Monday to take a first batch of people back to their homes.

Most of the displaced people moved in with family or friends but nearly 300,000 were settled in sprawling tent camps.

Signs on the ground offered a mixed picture of how successful their return might be.

Reporters who have visited the Swat's main town say there was some damage to homes in the fighting, but not much. Many of the displaced have lost their crops, however, and will need support for many months, aid workers say.

PHOTO CAPTION

Sadaf, a six-year-old internally displaced girl from Swat, holds her two-year-old brother Ali as they stand outside their family tent at the UNHCR ( United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district, located about 120 km (75 miles) north west of Pakistan's capital Islamabad July 12, 2009.

Agencies