2 Million Pakistani Refugees Returning to Swat Valley

Filed in archive Asia on July 14, 2009

It's being called a "phased return home." Pakistanis displaced by fighting in the Swat Valley of Malakland Province are being allowed to slowly return to their homes. The biggest problem: in general they don't trust government authorities involved in the effort.

The refugee population from Swat was created when Pakistani military forces moved in to drive the Taliban out.

In addition to questions about whether hostilities in the region are really over, economic problems are coming to the for. Swat's two main economic forces are agriculture and tourism. But the year's first crop has been lost and the tourism industry has collapsed in the face of open warfare.

Time will tell whether Swat becomes a battleground again or whether stability will return.


© bartdegoeij