Pakistan deals with 1.5 million refugees

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan was racing yesterday to help refugees fleeing a military offensive against the Taliban in a northwestern valley – an exodus of some 1.5 million of a speed and size the UN said could rival the displacement caused by Rwanda’s genocide.

The humanitarian challenge comes as the military said more than 30 militants and soldiers died as troops tried to re-conquer key towns in the Swat Valley and clashed with insurgents near the Afghan border.Lieutenant General Nadeem Ahmed, who leads a group tasked with dealing with the uprooted Pakistanis, said the government had enough flour and other food for the displaced but said it needed donations of fans and high energy biscuits. He also said the refugees would get money and free transport when it was safe enough to return.A ‘camp is not a replacement for home,’ Ahmed told reporters, adding there are at least 22 relief camps operating.The US has praised Pakistan’s military operation in Swat and surrounding districts, which comes amid long-standing American pressure to root out al Qaeda and Taliban hide-outs along the border with Afghanistan. Militants in those sanctuaries threaten American and Nato troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s own future, US officials warn.- Nampa-AP