JALOZAI CAMP, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan began yesterday to send home about two million people who fled their homes two months ago because of an army assault on Taliban militants in the Swat valley.
But a blast at a suspected militant explosives cache in Punjab province and the arrest of 13 suspected al Qaeda militants in the southwest served as a reminder of the scale of the challenge the government still faces in fighting insurgency and sectarian violence. Thirteen people were killed.
The army launched the offensive in Swat in late April after militants took over a district just 100 km (60 miles) from Islamabad, raising fears for Pakistan’s stability.
The ensuing 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 military says it has now pushed the Taliban out of their former bastion of Swat, northwest of Islamabad, and the government is keen to move the displaced back to their homes. Assured that it is safe, a few are starting to venture home.
In the dusty tent camp of Jalozai, already baking hot in the early morning sun, buses and trucks were lined up on Monday to take a first batch of people back to their homes.
“Thank God we’re going back,” said farmer Qaiser Khan. “I don’t know who’s right and who’s wrong. We want peace and if there are terrorists, miscreants, they should be eliminated once and for all.”
Most of the refugees moved in with family or friends but nearly 300,000 were settled in tent camps.
Their plight is a sensitive issue for the government, which could see support for its more than two-month drive against the Taliban eroded if they are seen to be suffering unduly.
Fawad Ali, a 30-year-old barber, was loading his belongings, including donated bags of flour and lentils, onto the back of a truck as his family waited nearby.
He said he hoped the Taliban had gone for good.
“We’re pinning our hopes on the government’s efforts because we’re jobless. They banned our business,” Ali said, referring to a Taliban ban on barbers cutting men’s hair.
