Updated on
Summary
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that nearly two million people displaced by a massive offensive against the Taliban in the northwest could start returning home next week. The displaced people will start going back from July 13. The special support group will finalise the strategy from today and will make a procedure for their return, security and other arrangements, he told a news conference. The army will remain in the area for the security of the people and the reconstruction process of the affected areas will start soon. Security forces launched an offensive against Taliban fighters in late April in the northwest after the fighters thrust further south towards Islamabad, sparking a huge exodus as people rushed to escape ground and air assaults. Most of the 1.9 million displaced, who include about 500,000 who fled an offensive last year elsehwere in the northwest, are packed into relatives' homes, while others are crammed into hot and dusty refugee camps.
