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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan: Refugees may return home despite bomb attacks |
| 2009-06-20 |
| [ADN Kronos] The Pakistani government flagged the possibility of allowing refugees to return to their homes in the volatile northwest while fighter jets bombed at least three Taliban militant camps along the Afghan border on Friday. Senior officials said jet fighters flattened training facilities in the South Waziristan tribal region killing or injuring several people. Meanwhile the death toll from a suspected US missile strike in the area on Thursday has risen to 13, according to media reports. The Taliban also reportedly opened fire on troops elsewhere in the mountainous area, starting an exchange of fire that was still going on hours later, officials said. The operation in South Waziristan is seen as a potential turning point in the fight against militancy in Pakistan. It could also help curb Taliban attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan. The rugged northwest area is the stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who the government has vowed to eliminate. Friday's bombing runs were launched in response to reports of dozens of militants in the South Waziristan's Zor Sorvakai, Madijan and Katkai areas, widely considered Mehsud strongholds. On Thursday up to three suspected US drone aircraft are reported to have dropped four missiles on a training school for Islamist extremists in the lawless South Waziristan tribal zone near the Afghan border. The rugged northwest area is the stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. Despite the violence in South Waziristan, the Pakistani government says refugees from the troubled Swat region would be able to begin returning home on Saturday. Pakistani defence minister, Chaudry Ahmed Mukhtar, said the government's military operation in the Swat Valley had almost ended and those who had been displaced due to the fighting would be able to start returning to their homes on Saturday. UNHCR says there are two million displaced people as a result of the Pakistani government's offensive against the Taliban in Swat. |
| Posted by:Fred |