2.5M displaced Pakistanis fear returning back to their homes

Over 2.5 million internally displaced people continue to "suffer from shock," they are "afraid of returning home" because they feel that some Taliban presence still exists in those areas, Church-based relief group said.

Two and a half months into the offensive against Taliban, Pakistan said on 8 June that the military operation against the militants in northwestern Pakistan's Swat and Buner districts completed, clearing out militants and making the area safe for return of the displaced local population, Xinhua news reported.

Earlier local media also reported that Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the displaced populations could start returning home by 13 July.

However, an emergency relief group Action by Churches Together (ACT) International said the internally displaced peoples (IDPs) have spoken to the Communication Officer of its local partner Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) and shared their concerns over the lingering uncertainty and the government's claim that it is safe for them to return home.

"The majority of displaced people continue to suffer from shock, they are afraid of returning back because they feel that some Taliban presence still exists in those areas," one IDP said.

The relief group said, with the completion of the rapid response phase, humanitarian agencies are still struggling to implement a comprehensive initiative focusing on education, food security, health, and protection of the displaced people. The delay in funding was yet another challenge for all involved, and large numbers of humanitarian organizations are still on hold.

Also, the health problems faced by the IDPs are worsened by a combination of lack of funds, a lack of women doctors, and cultural constraints which dictate that it is not appropriate for male doctors to tend to women or girls.

The aid agency said, a large number of women are very reluctant to seek medical advice from male doctors for their children including both boys and girls and have shared their fears on protection issues.

The WHO recently reported that within a few weeks, its medicine supplies will be depleted. With the onset of the monsoon season, health problems including malaria and cholera will increase. Without proper medical attention and without sufficient supplies of medicine, many IDPs could suffer severe health problem or even face death.

Meanwhile, ACT International members Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan (CWS-P/A) and Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) continue to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the country where, according to the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government Emergency Response Unit, 3.5 million people have been uprooted by the conflict between the government and militants.

UN refugee agency and Pakistani officials had said that over two million people were displaced as the result of fighting between the Taliban militants and the security forces in parts of Pakistan's northwest. About 10 percent, or 200,000 of them are in camps. The other 90 percent are staying with family and friends.

The Church-based aid agency has a target of 5.9 million U.S. dollar for its local partners, which will be used to aid the vast majority who are living with host families or friends or in ad hoc shelters and rented accommodation. The strain on host communities is massive, it said.

The CWS-P/A and NCA 12-month projects in NWFP include relief and recovery assistance to conflict IDPs residing primarily in host communities, rather than camps.

CWS P/A, working with five partner organisations, is operational in Swabi and Mardan Districts. NCA, working with four partners, is operational in the districts of Swabi, Mardan, Malakand, Abbottabad and Haripur.

Proposed assistance includes Food and Non-food relief items, emergency health services, and recovery support in the areas of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Livelihoods, Education, Health, and Advocacy, it said.

Associated Press reported that though Pakistan has achieve a relative success in defeating Taliban from Swat and Buner districts, it is facing a huge challenge from Baitullah Mehsud, the top commander of Pakistan's Taliban who has ties to al-Qaida.

Mehsud has a command of over 10,000 fighters in South Waziristan, a mountainous region of Northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan.

Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide have been actively working in Pakistan with its local members ever since the humanitarian crisis started two months ago.