Displaced Pakistanis Fear Returning Home

About two million people displaced from their homes because of fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban militants in the Sawat valley region are reluctantly returning home.

The government will start to bring them home on Monday.

But in Mardan, one of the 20 tented camps on the lowland below Sawat, Pakistanis expressed worries about the situation back home.

[Emaan Khan, Sawat Resident]:
„We want to go back home, but we are fearful of the government and the Talib (Taliban). If there is a threat then we should not go back, if our area is clean then we will go home.“

The displaced of Sawat living in Mardan’s „Yar Hussain Camp“ are cautious about their return.

[Juniad Khan, Sawat Resident]:
„If we go home we will face lots of problems, because we have been displaced for the last three months. Now we don’t know the condition of our houses or what the situation is in our area. It will be difficult for us if food and other necessities are not available.“

Government officials say the fighting which began two months ago has killed over 1,700 militants and over 150 soldiers.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani says the government has restored utilities and infrastructure in Sawat and has taken measures to provide security to the people.

But many residents and some international officials remain skeptical.

U.N. Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes says Pakistan needs to ensure appropriate conditions, especially security, before encouraging displaced people to go home.

Militants have carried out a series of suicide bombings and bomb attacks around the country in retaliation for the Sawat offensive.

The Pakistani army has pushed the militants out of the Sawat towns it controls, but clashes are a daily occurrence in some areas.

(NTDTV)