Pakistan will allow some 2 million people who fled an army offensive against the Taleban in the Swat Valley area to return home from the beginning of next week, the prime minister announced Thursday after declaring that the region was secure and that essential services had been restored. The refugees are staying in crowded camps and homes just south of the northwestern region. It remains unclear how quickly they will return, but anecdotal accounts from refugees in recent days suggest most were keen to go home as soon as the curfew was lifted. “The electricity has been restored, gas has been restored, gas stations have been restored and even the banks have been restored,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in a televised news conference. “I congratulate the nation that from 13th (of July) the displaced people will start returning to their homes,” he said, adding the army would remain in the valley to ensure the Taleban did not return. Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, the official in charge of Pakistan's emergency response to the displacement crisis, said full security would be provided to ensure the safety of those returning back. “First the people living in camps will be sent. Then the people living in schools. In the third phase, people living with their relatives in houses and in the final stage, people living outside NWFP,” he told Geo television. “We will provide full security,” he added. “We will enroll local young men through community policing and pay them Rs10,000 ($123) per month, they will be responsible for law and order in their areas,” he said. The military launched the Swat offensive more than two months ago after militants violated the terms of a ceasefire and began advancing into areas close to the capital. The army claims to have cleared nearly all the valley and killed more than 1,500 militants. The offensive was praised by the United States and other Western allies, which have tried for years to get Pakistan to crack down on militants close to the Afghan border. The insurgents are blamed for spiraling violence in both nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. – With input from agencies FACTBOX • The UN refugee agency says it is grappling with one of the largest, fastest and most complex operations it has faced in years. • The United Nations has received $223 million in response to a $543 million aid appeal it launched in May in a bid to avert a long-term humanitarian crisis. • Aid workers say many of the displaced are afraid to go home, but also that the strain on host communities is growing as time passes. • Public support for the offensive against the Taleban is strong, but the government risks losing it if the displaced are seen to suffer. __
