My People

[ajpirzada]

1121 Army personnel working as part of SSG
ISLAMABAD, May 23 (APP)‑ Total 1121 officers and men of the Pakistan Army as part of Special Support Group (SSG) for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are working day and night to provide relief to the IDPs of Malakand Division. Army personnel are working to help the Provincial Government of NWFP and civil administration of the respective areas where Operation Rah‑e‑Rast is being carried out for the management of IDPs.

Over 100 of patients in the IDP camps are being treated daily by the specialist teams of Army doctors at a Field hospital established at Sheikh Shehzad Camp. The Hospital, equipped with all the latest facilities including minor operation has the facility to treat patients by the Specialists in the fields like Gynecology, Medical, General Surgry, Children, ENT, Radiology, Skin and Hygiene. A similar hospital has also been established at Jalozai Camp.

Army has so far donated 460 tons of ration out of its daily ration.

Donated items included Atta, Daal, Sugar and Ghee. The ration is daily consumed by over 80,000 IDPs.

To share the burden and difficulties of displaced people of Malakand and Swat, Pakistan Army has despatched number of trucks carrying relief goods loaded with 12,000 Net Mosquito and 10,000 Durrees. These items would be handed over to Special Support Group for further distribution. The items were despatched by Central Ordnance Depot, Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Pakistan Army has also provided 196 vehicles that include 30 Trucks (2.5 ton), 45 trucks (5/5 ton), 17 water trailers and other miscellaneous vehicles, to boost the relief activities.

Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - 1121 Army personnel working as part of SSG

 

[ajpirzada]

66,000 pregnant women in IDPs camps: UN
Updated at: 2015 PST, Monday, May 25, 2009
SWAT: There are 66,000 pregnant women present in the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), a report of the United Nations said.

Most of these women are expected to deliver in the next three months, the report added.
66,000 pregnant women in IDPs camps: UN

 

[ajpirzada]

IDPs to be welcomed in Punjab, says Nawaz
LAHORE: Former Premier and Quaid Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be welcomed in Punjab and they can not be stopped to go anywhere in the country.

Barring IDPs to enter in some areas of the country was against the constitution and national interest, he said this while addressing the meeting with regard to IDPs in Punjab. We would setup camps in Punjab for IDPs if needed, he said, adding that, the people of Punjab stand should to shoulder with IDPs in hour of crises.

Former Premier Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif went on to say the success of swat operation is vital for country’s prosperity. He said PML-N is supporting unconditional support to Government in offensive against militants in Swat and also wants success of operation. He said 4,000 fans would be dispatched for IDPs today (Monday) while Atta would also from Wednesday. He asked Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz to leave no stone unturned towards the rehabilitation of IDPs.

Chief Minister Punjab, senior Party leaders, Provincial ministers and representative of donors were also present on the occasion.
ONLINE - International News Network

 

[ajpirzada]

PESHAWAR: A children’s festival under the title ‘Sports for peace’ will be launched in the IDP camps of Mardan, Swabi and Peshawar from June 1.

This was stated by NWFP Minister for Sports Syed Aqil Shah while addressing a press conference here at Olympic Secretariat on Sunday soon after meeting Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti.

‘We want peace for our children from Bajaur, Dir, Swat and Buner and to keep them out of the present situation of gloominess, depression, trauma, extreme violence and it is only possible that these kids will be involved in sporting activities,’ Aqil Shah said.

Such things had a negative impact on children psychology so the need of the hour was to involve them healthy activities, he added.

The children were living in sever heat and restricted to tents, so we wanted to see smiles on their faces by involving them in sports, Aqil said.

‘We have full support of the chief minister who during his visit to the camps on Saturday last desired to have sports activities for the IDPs children,’ he informed. In terms of funds the chief minister gave free hands for such activities, he maintained.

Announcing the organising committee, he said, the chief minister would be the chief patron and he himself as the patron.

In charge ERU Azam Khan will be chairman of the committee while director sports Altaf Umerzai will act as president, secretary NWFP Olympic Association Zulfiqar Butt as secretary and all district sports officers will be members of the executive committee while DIG Mardan Akhtar Ali Shah will head security committee.

He also nominated secretary NWFP Volleyball Association Shahid Kamal, international footballers Basit Kamal and Zahidul Khair and Mir Bashar to look after volleyball, football and cricket events.

Initially cricket (softball), volleyball and football matches will be organised with teams from Buner, Swat, Bajaur and Dir taking part. The outfit, socks, joggers and playing equipment would be provided to the children in an organised manner, he added.

President of Pakistan Olympic Association Lt-Gen Arif Hassan has also extended full support for provision of equipment in all games. He said arrangement would be made to facilitate the spectators in the camps.

He said, attractive trophies and cash prizes will be given to the position holders and besides games, mini races, mini-marathon will be organised on the Motorway (M-I) in order to involve general public for their support.

 

[ajpirzada]

PM waives all agri-loans in Malakand
Updated at: 1500 PST, Tuesday, May 26, 2009
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday waived all the agri-loans, declaring the Malakand Division a calamity-hit area.

Speaking at Kissan Convention and media here, the PM said the Malakand affectees left their standing crops and migrated; however, the government will give them compensation for it.

The PM Gilani said the affectees of Malakand are Pakistanis and they have right to go to every part of Pakistan, adding they are being registered for financial assistance to be given to them.

The government has increased the subsidized price of wheat from Rs450 to Rs950 per maund, which benefited farmers, adding the cabinet, attended by all the chief minsters will have debate on policy relating agriculture.

Yousuf Raza Gilani informed that the crop insurance has been started, announcing that small cultivators would be given tractors as reward.

“The global economic crisis had impact on our economy and we inherited the power load shedding from the previous government, however, we will get over the problem by the end of this year,” the PM said adding every month a new power plant would be inaugurated.

Speaking on Balochistan issue, he said the sense of deprivation in the people of Balochistan would be ended and an all parties’ conference would be called for the issue.

Responding a question, the Prime Minster said no agri-tax in the budget has yet been decided; however, any final word could be said only after the briefing by the finance ministry.

“We want the resolution of all disputes with India including Kashmir,” he added.

PM waives all agri-loans in Malakand - GEO.tv

 

[waraich66]

IDPs to be welcomed in Punjab, says Nawaz
LAHORE: Former Premier and Quaid Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be welcomed in Punjab and they can not be stopped to go anywhere in the country.

Barring IDPs to enter in some areas of the country was against the constitution and national interest, he said this while addressing the meeting with regard to IDPs in Punjab. We would setup camps in Punjab for IDPs if needed, he said, adding that, the people of Punjab stand should to shoulder with IDPs in hour of crises.

Former Premier Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif went on to say the success of swat operation is vital for country’s prosperity. He said PML-N is supporting unconditional support to Government in offensive against militants in Swat and also wants success of operation. He said 4,000 fans would be dispatched for IDPs today (Monday) while Atta would also from Wednesday. He asked Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz to leave no stone unturned towards the rehabilitation of IDPs.

Chief Minister Punjab, senior Party leaders, Provincial ministers and representative of donors were also present on the occasion.
ONLINE - International News Network

GOP is not doing enough for IDPs ,its totally failure of govrnment in this front ,anger of local people is increasing day by day.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Rights group: Pakistan should airlift food to Swat

By MUNIR AHMAD – 7 hours ago

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan must immediately lift a curfew in the Swat Valley and airlift food, water and medicine to residents trapped by battles between the military and the Taliban or risk a humanitarian catastrophe, Human Rights Watch warned Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of civilians are thought to remain in the valley and surrounding districts, where the army faces a major test of the country's resolve to take on militants with a strong grip on parts of the country.

Fighting between troops and suspected militants was also going Tuesday in South Waziristan in the restive tribal belt between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where U.S. and other officials believe the Taliban and al-Qaida have strongholds.

Officials fear an even greater refugee crisis as residents in other regions start fleeing in large numbers.

More than 2 million people have fled the fighting in Swat, an exodus encouraged by government forces because it moves noncombatants out of harm's way and makes insurgents easier to identify.

The outflow has reduced the threat of civilian casualties, but left more than 160,000 people in refugee camps and a dozen times that number staying with relatives or elsewhere.

Those left behind are hemmed in by the fighting in some places and unable to flee in others because the military has surrounded towns and blocked off several ways out.

"The government cannot allow the local population to remain trapped without food, clean water, and medicine as a tactic to defeat the Taliban," Brad Adams, the New York-based Human Rights Watch's director for Asia, said in a statement.

"People trapped in the Swat conflict zone face a humanitarian catastrophe unless the Pakistani military immediately lifts a curfew that has been in place continuously for the last week."

Pakistan's military said the situation was too dangerous for civilians to be allowed to move freely in the valley.

"The fighting is on there, and how do you expect the curfew be lifted?" Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press.

He said the army was sending trucks with food and other supplies to areas that forces have cleared.

In Geneva, a spokesman for the U.N. Commissioner for Refugees said about 126,000 people were being forced from their homes every day by the conflict — one of the sharpest rates of displacement in recent world history.

Nearly 2.4 million have been uprooted this month, said the spokesman, Ron Redmond. He said the numbers were being cross-checked for accuracy.

"How much bigger is this going to get?" Redmond said at a U.N. news conference. "We don't know."

Infectious diseases have broken out among some refugees, and the situation could worsen if monsoons arrive and the conflict expands to north and south Waziristan, a World Health Organization official in the northwestern city of Peshawar warned.

"We need help and we need it now," Dr. Khalif Bile Mohamud told reporters in Geneva via a conference call.

In South Waziristan, Pakistani troops backed by helicopter gunships attacked suspected militant hide-outs Tuesday in Siblatoi and Chakmali villages, killing at least six insurgents and wounding 12 others, said two intelligence officials on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record to reporters.

Three security forces were wounded in the fighting, which was continuing late Tuesday, the officials said.

Syed Mohsin Shah, the top government official in nearby Dera Ismail Khan district, said some 1,500 families have fled from South Waziristan and surrounding areas in the past few weeks because of the fighting. Most of them were now living with relatives.

Militants in Swat on Monday pledged to temporarily stop attacking security forces in Manger town out of concern for trapped civilians. The promise appeared designed to appeal to growing public concern for those stuck in Manger and could indicate they were preparing a tactical withdrawal from the city.

The U.S. has strongly backed Pakistan's month-old offensive in the northwest valley and neighboring districts. U.S. officials want Pakistan to root out havens used by al-Qaida and Taliban fighters to plan attacks on Western troops in nearby Afghanistan, and Swat is considered an important test of the Muslim nation's ability and willingness to do so.

The military says about 1,100 suspected insurgents have died so far in the offensive.

It has not given a civilian death toll, and it's unclear how it is separating noncombatants killed from militants. Residents fleeing the region have reported dozens of ordinary Pakistanis killed in the fight. Journalists have mostly been barred from reporting there.

Associated Press Writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Bradley S. Klapper in Geneva contributed to this report

 

[RabzonKhan]

Pakistan: Urgent US refugee aid arrives

Islamabad, 26 May (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - A shipment of US aid worth more than 330,000 dollars was delivered to Pakistan on Tuesday to help refugees displaced by operations against militants in the country's northwest. The shipment, which includes 50 air conditioning units, 25 power generators and other items, was delivered Chaklala Air Base near Islamabad.

The aid was to be sent to camps set up to house more than 2.5 million refugees who have fled the ongoing conflict in Swat and other districts.

Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Tuesday that at least 29 militants had been killed in Swat in the past 24 hours and that the government was making good progress in its military offensive.

The Pakistani army is coordinating relief operations and will distribute and erect the tents at the camps.

The United States provided 500 shovels and 5,000 sandbags to anchor the tents used by refugees.

This follows last week’s deliveries by US aircraft of more than 120,000 pre-packed meals and tents.

On 19 May, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton committed 110 million dollars in immediate humanitarian assistance to help displaced people.

The US also provided 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat valued at 16.8 million dollars, and 6,800 metric tonnes of vegetable oil valued at 11.2 million dollars.

This is in addition to the 4.9 million dollars provided to purchase tents, blankets, cooking sets, jerry cans, soap, and bedding.

The US also sent logistical equipment including generators, and transformers to power water pumps, laptop computers, and rental cars.

Last week the United Nations appealed for an additional 454 million dollars to assist nearly two million Pakistanis displaced by fighting between army troops and Taliban militants in the Swat Valley.

The UN has already committed 88 million dollars, bringing the total coast of humanitarian relief to 453 million dollars.

UN officials have said the scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Pakistan is extraordinary.

"The numbers of people who have moved in that last three and half weeks is the highest rate of movement we have seen for more than 20 years anywhere in the world," said Martin Mogwanja, the acting UN coordinator in Pakistan last

 

[ajpirzada]

12,000 IDPs reach Karachi in three days
By Our Staff Reporter
Wednesday, 27 May, 2009 | 01:37 AM PST |

KARACHI: The internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Malakand division and other adjoining areas have started to arrive in Karachi from Ghotki and Kashmore routes following the government assurances that there is no restriction on their entry into the province after their proper registration.

Between May 23 and May 25, about 12,000 IDPs reached Karachi from different areas of the NWFP, sources said.

Besides these IDPs, there were those displaced people who had arrived in Sindh before the start of the mass exodus from Swat and Malakand districts.

The revenue officials of the Sindh government, including the DCO of Karachi, Javed Hanif, visited various suitable sites on the Super Highway and National Highway for setting up of relief camps for the displaced people on Tuesday.

They examined various locations so that water and electricity could easily be made available at the camps.

Earlier, a tent village set up on the Super Highway on Monday for temporary rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons from Swat and Malakand districts was removed because of logistical difficulties.

On May 23, more than 1,000 IDPs arrived in Karachi in 20 buses via Kashmore, said revenue officials.

The following day, 21 small vehicles, carrying 274 displaced people reached Karachi via Ghotki, while 202 buses and pickups brought 10,595 IDPs from Kashmore the same day.

On May 25, two more buses reached Karachi via Kashmore with 213 displaced people.

Most of the IDPs who arrived on May 23 in Karachi hailed from Peshawar, Swat, Bannu, Waziristan, Kohat, Mardan, Swabi, Buner and Mansehra districts.

The government on May 23 set up a relief camp on Reti road near Ubauro taluka in Ghotki district for the displaced people.

DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | 12,000 IDPs reach Karachi in three days

 

[ajpirzada]

Non-commercial radio licence issued to facilitate IDPs
ISLAMABAD (May 28 2009): Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has granted a non-commercial FM Radio Station licence to the Department of Information, government of NWFP at Mardan to facilitate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) for accessing useful information through FM Radios.

This was decided in the 54th Authority meeting of Pemra held on Wednesday at Pemra Headquarters, Islamabad. The meeting was chaired by Chairman Pemra, Mushtaq Malik. The Authority also approved the Annual Budget for the year 2009-10, unanimously, on the recommendations of Budget Advisory Committee comprising Kaiser Bangali, Adnan A. Khawaja and Professor Dr Najma Najam.

The Authority members were also informed about the Pemra's donation of five (05) multimedia screens for IDPs. These screens will be utilised for disseminating pertinent information to the IDPs living in the camps of Mardan, Nowshera or else where. Besides Chairman Pemra those who attended the meeting were Sohail Ahmed, Chairman FBR, Professor Dr Najma Najam, Professor Dr Seemi Naghmana, Samar Minallah, Kaiser Bangali, Asad Jehangir Khan and Umer Aziz Khan.-PR

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[RabzonKhan]

Unicef runs out of relief supplies, appeals for funds

By Amin Ahmed
Thursday, 28 May, 2009


RAWALPINDI: The Unicef Pakistan has almost exhausted its contingency funds and stocks of relief goods and has appealed for an additional $41.4 million for providing immediate assistance to people displaced by fighting in parts of the NWFP.

The $41.4 million request is part of the global appeal for $543.2 million for major humanitarian efforts.

Working in cooperation with the government, United Nations, and the partners, Unicef is providing drinking water, nutrition, health support, education and protection to children and families wherever possible.

Unicef fears displacement of more people in the days ahead with the expansion of the area of the military operation.

Over half of the displaced are children and humanitarian efforts have been strained by a rapid increase in the number of people fleeing fighting in the Malakand division.

The number of displaced people has reached about 2.5 million. A large number of them have poured into camps and host communities. They have few possessions and are in urgent need of safe water, clothing, food, shelter, healthcare and protection.

Difficulties of access combined with shortages of essential supplies and funding are hindering efforts to provide life-saving support to children and women.

Many of the newly displaced are yet to receive any assistance, and only around 10 per cent of them are in camps serviced by national or international humanitarian agencies.

In the coming months, Unicef plans to expand its services and provide humanitarian assistance to displaced children and women both in camps and in host communities.





UN pleads for more cash for Swat displaced

Thursday, 28 May, 2009



ISLAMABAD: UN officials in Pakistan warned Thursday that a fund to help 2.4 million people displaced by an anti-Taliban offensive remained woefully short, with medical supplies running low.

Pakistan is struggling to cope as civilians flood every day into crowded camps or the homes of over-burdened relatives, escaping a month-long military offensive in the northwest.

Last Friday, the United Nations appealed for 543 million dollars to provide the displaced with food, medicine, shelter and other assistance, but so far the response has been lackluster.

‘Out of this 543 million, only 88 million is funded — 16 per cent — which is way too little to respond in an effective and timely manner to the crisis that we have,’ said Manuel Bessler, head of UN humanitarian agency OCHA here.

Donors had already committed that 88 million dollars before the fresh appeal and since then only 100 million dollars more had been promised — money that had not yet reached the United Nations.

‘We have not had any overwhelming responses to our appeal. We got some pledges, but we did not get pledges sent into actual bank deposits,’ said Fikret Akcura, the UN resident coordinator in Pakistan.

‘We would like to see a quick response. We will be discouraged if the situation keeps going like this,’ he told a press conference in Islamabad.

Khalif Bile Mohamud, the World Health Organisation representative in Pakistan, said they had enough medicine stocks to last only until June.

‘That’s why we are urging the international community to come and come now,’ he told reporters.

The military launched its operation in the districts of Lower Dir on April 26, Buner on April 28 and Swat on May 8, after Taliban fighters advanced to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad.

Pakistan has called for one billion dollars to help the uprooted civilians rebuild their lives, but it remains unclear when they will be able to go home.

The army claims to have secured 90 per cent of Buner and to be closing in on militants in Swat’s capital Mingora, but there is no imminent end in sight.

A trickle of people are trying to return to harvest their crops, but a thorough assessment of the security situation in the conflict zones would be needed before any large-scale return, the UN officials said.

 

[RabzonKhan]

Pukaar

How to Donate

"MKRF swat relief fund" account in MCB

MCB A/c Detail
Account Details for Pakistan

Title: MKRF SWAT RELIEF FUND
CD Account # 1002376
SWIFT CODE: MUCBPKKAA
BRANCH CODE: 0915
Bank Name MCB Bank
Swift Code (for outside Pakistan) - MUCBPKKAA
Note:

Cheque Pick up

Call 021-2600200

TCS will pick up the cheque from your doorstep all over Pakistan.

Or

Drop your cheque in the name of MKRF Swat Relief Fund in any TCS Centre across Pakistan

SMS

Type SWAT and send to 4361 (Rs.10/sms + tax)

Pukaar Call Service (The more you dial the more you donate)

0900-99940 (Rs. 6.03 tax)

0900- 99930 (Rs14.07 + tax)

0900-99990 (Rs. 25+tax)

Relief Camps

Karachi: PAF Museum Karachi

Lahore: Main entrance, Race Cource Park (Jilani park), Jail Rd.

Rawalpindi: Jang Building, Murree Road.



Pukaar Madad Bazaar

MAKRO Shahra-e-Faisal Karachi

MAKRO ‘Model Town Lahore’


DUBAI
Pledge Line Studio 043902850

USA

Account Details for US
Account Title MKRF
Account Number 101208433
Swift Code HANYUS33
Routing Number 026007362
Bank Name Habib American Bank
Address 99 Madison Ave New York NY 10016, USA

Pledge Line (Studio) 718-389-9600
US Postal address to mail cheques
818 Coney Island Avenue,
Brooklyn, New York, NY 11218 USA


UK

UK (Mention MKRF is a Pakistan Based Charity during transmission)
Pledge Line (Studio)

Account Details for UK
Account Title MIR KHALIL UR REHMAN FOUNDATION
Account Number 70005356
Sort Code 60-95-11
Swift Code HABBGB2L
Bank Name Habib Bank UK
Address 161-163 Commercial Road , London, E1 2DA

UK Postal Address to mail cheques
1, Sanctuary Street, SE1, 1ED London

 

[RabzonKhan]

Punjab to provide 28,000 flour bags to IDPs every week, says PML-N

May 29, 2009

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will provide free wheat flour to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in NWFP camps and it would dispatch 28,000 wheat flour bags of 20-kg each on weekly basis, said PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq on Thursday.

He was talking to media persons here at provincial government’s godowns of wheat flour near Railways Carriage Factory while dispatching 28,000 wheat flour bags worth of Rs 14.5 million. This consignment will be handed over to World Food Programme for IDPs in Nowshera, NWFP. The members of national and provincial assemblies, Rawalpindi Commissioner Zahid Saeed, District Coordination Officer Imdadullah Bosal, Deputy Director Food Sharjeel Mirza, District Food Controller Babar Khan and other senior officers were present on this occasion. Raja said according to a survey, the daily requirement of wheat flour at IDPs camps was 4,000 wheat flour bags of 20 kg each. He said sensing the gravity of the situation, PML-N Quaid Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had decided to provide free of cost wheat flour to IDPs.

He said the Punjab government would bear all the expenditures including the wheat grinding. He said the provincial government would use all its resources for the rehabilitation of IDPs. He said the provincial government was also dispatching relief goods for IDPs including daily use items like wheat flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, tea, clothes and fans. He said the government had already dispatched tents worth of Rs 2.2 million and medical teams to Swat and Buner to provide medical facilities to the IDPs in camps. staff report

 

[RabzonKhan]

IDPs top priority, says Zardari


President Asif Ali Zardari distributes relief goods during his visit to Shah Mansoor Camp set up for internally displaced persons from Malakand following a military operation launched against the Taliban in the region. app

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari called on the nation to help the millions of people displaced amid efforts to rein in the Taliban, and said “we will starve ourselves” to rehabilitate internally displaced persons (IDPs) as soon as possible.

Visiting the Shah Mansoor Camp in Swabi, Zardari said, “I am here to share your sufferings and problems.” He assured IDPs at the camp that the entire nation was behind them.

After distributing gifts and rations among the IDPs, the president directed the authorities to provide the best possible facilities to IDPs and resolve the problems being faced by them. He said a model camp would be set up in Jalozai, while injured and handicapped people would be provided wheel chairs and other facilities.

He urged the IDPs to keep their spirits high, and vowed that the government would try to provide them better facilities than they had when the operation began in their areas. “You will return in a better atmosphere than that which forced you to abandon your homes,” he said.

He urged them to support the government and the Pakistan Army in efforts to eliminate extremists. “You are not alone in this hour of tribulation. The entire Pakistani nation is with you. The government is with you and the Pakistan Army is with you.”

Zardari said he understood the IDPs’ pain, as he himself was a victim of terrorism – referring to the assassination of his wife. “I can imagine your feelings because my children have also suffered and they have also been separated from their mother,” said Zardari, adding that the day when displaced people would return home was not far away.

The president was accompanied by Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and Interior Minister Rehman Malik. He was greeted by NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti and Special Support Chairman Group Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed.

 

[RabzonKhan]

39 ‘Taliban’ hiding among IDPs arrested

May 30, 2009

ISLAMABAD: Police have arrested 39 suspected Taliban hiding among the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Swat and other regions of Malakand division, a senior officer said on Friday.

The arrests, made in the past few days, were the first of the Taliban among more than two million people who have fled the fighting.

The military says it has killed more than 1,100 Taliban in a month of heavy clashes and had the Taliban on the run. The offensive is strongly backed by Washington and viewed as a test of the government's resolve to quell extremism.

Officials had previously warned that fleeing insurgents might try to take refuge among civilians.

One dozen of the Taliban were arrested in IDP camps south of the Swat region, while the others were picked up in houses where the IDPs were staying with relatives or were renting, said Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, the police chief in Mardan, a town that hosts some of the roughly one dozen relief camps.

"These Taliban have mixed up themselves among the refugees," Shah told The Associated Press by telephone.

They had cut their hair short and shaved their beards in a bid to disguise themselves from authorities and blend in with civilians, he said. ap