Humanitarian Crisis Worsens in Pakistan

Posted by Christine Welter May 10, 2009

Pakistani warplanes on Friday bombed Taliban hideouts in the Swat valley after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani vowed to "eliminate the militants and terrorists" in a televised address.

Asked about the threat to the civilian population by the military offensive Pakistan's president Asaf Ali Zardari said his government could not let aid organizations into the region during the offensive because then they would suffer casualties as well. Most people in the conflict area have fled the region and the Pakistan government wants to take care of them in refugee camps. (Interview with Margaret Warner, The Online NewsHour)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned last week that a humanitarian crisis was escalating in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. "The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said he was deeply concerned for displaced Pakistanis and some 20,000 registered Afghan refugees affected by the conflict, and that the agency was stepping up relief." (Telegraph.co.uk)

On Sunday, May 10, a curfew was temporarily lifted in the Swat Valley to allow people to flee from the fighting in the area. The residents of the towns of Mingora, Qambar and Rahimabad have been asked to leave. In these towns Taliban fighters seem to be hiding. Many people were leaving on foot. (The Gaea News)