4m living under Taliban rule in Pakistan: Amnesty

Human rights group Amnesty International said Thursday that nearly four million people are effectively living under Taliban rule in northwest Pakistan and have been abandoned by the government. The 130-page report entitled As if Hell Fell on Me: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan is likely to ruffle Pakistani officials who believe they made great strides last year in regaining ground from the Taliban. The London-based organisation said there were credible reports that at least 1,300 civilians were killed during fighting in the northwest in 2009. There has been little official word on civilians hurt in anti-Taliban campaigns. Nearly four million people are effectively living under the Taliban in northwest Pakistan without rule of law and effectively abandoned by the Pakistani government, said Amnesty's acting head, Claudio Cordone. The group called the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) a human rights free zone and said more than one million displaced people were in desperate need of aid. It urged Pakistan and the Taliban to prevent loss of civilian life and allow unfettered aid workers' access to provide food, shelter and medical supplies to the injured and displaced. Amnesty, which based its report on nearly 300 interviews with residents in the northwest, accused Pakistan of launching heavy handed operations, including indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks.