London, January 08: The UN says tens of thousands of Pakistanis are likely to be displaced again this year as the military continues with its offensive against the militants.
Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Manuel Bessler warned on Thursday that providing basic humanitarian relief for the displaced Pakistanis is likely to prove a major challenge in 2010.
He said many of the 2.3 million people displaced due to last year’s military offensive and are staying at UN-run camps, have returned to their homes. But many others, whose homes have been destroyed, will remain at the camps.
Bessler also acknowledged that dealing with the needs of those who return to the conflict-affected areas will be yet another bridge to cross.
Over 1,000,000 displaced people in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) are receiving help from the UN as well as national and international aid agencies.
Last year’s displacement was one of the largest displacements in recent history, the UN report said.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani during his visit to the NWFP province on Thursday assured of a massive relief package for the terrorism-hit areas of the province.
He declared that the federal government will bear all the expenditures for the rehabilitation of operation-affected areas.
——-Agencies