US hails UAE support to displaced Pakistanis

August 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Germany has given Rs.1.17 billion (about $14 million) in aid to Pakistan to help the displaced people in the country's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Online news agency reported Friday. The funds will be used to purchase food for the displaced people as part of the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

August 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A bill reserving four seats in the lower house of parliament and one seat in each of the four provincial assemblies for overseas Pakistanis will be introduced in the National Assembly once the law ministry vets it. "The bill is under consideration of the ministry of law and the Election Commission, Online news agency quoted Overseas Pakistanis Minister Farooq Sattar as saying.

August 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Most Pakistanis hate the Taliban as much as they consider United States as their enemy, a recent opinion poll has reveled. According to Pew Global Attitudes poll about 70 percent of Pakistanis are now against the Taliban's violent policies.

July 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - After spending numerous arduous days in refugee camps, people belonging to Hindu and Sikh communities have started returning to their homes in the Swat Valley. According to The Daily Times, the first convoy of refugees consisting of several Hindus and Sikhs, left for Swat from Hassanabdal on Thursday.

July 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the international community should come forward to help the displaced people in the country's northwest battered by the war against the Taliban. The displaced people in the Malakand Division will start returning to their homes from July 13 onwards, the Online news agency said Thursday citing the Pakistani leader.

July 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The displaced Pakistanis should not be forced to return to their homes until the security situation improves in the northwest, the UN has said. UN emergency relief coordinator John Holmes said the conditions have to be right before people are encouraged to return.

July 4th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - More than two million Pakistanis who have been displaced by the ongoing war between security forces and militants, but who have not got admission into any relief camp, are in appalling condition as they have no access to government aid, the Amnesty International has said. The government must ensure the ethnic Pashtuns fleeing the fighting in northwest Pakistan do not face discrimination in receiving assistance, the Online news agency said Saturday, citing the rights group Amnesty.

July 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Most Pakistanis believe that the Taliban fighters are a "critical threat" to their country and support the ongoing offensive in the Swat valley, according to a survey. An overwhelming 87 percent of Pakistanis think that the Taliban, who are fighting to overthrow the Afghan government, should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan, showed the poll by the World Public Opinon (WPO), a US-based organisation working on public opinion on international issues.

July 1st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said Wednesday the military operation against the Taliban will continue till the militants are eliminated from the country. Zardari made the comments during a meeting with Prime Minster Yousaf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at Aiwan-e-Sadr.

June 20th, 2009 PESHAWAR - The displaced Pakistanis will start returning to their homes from June 25 onwards, the Online news agency said Saturday. The process will continue in phases till July 2 and the returning civilians will be provided food and transportation, the report said citing Fazal Kareem Khatak, commissioner in Malakand Division in northwest Pakistan.

June 9th, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - The UN has opened three new camps to house the displaced Pakistanis fleeing the war in North West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials said. The displaced Pakistanis continue to pour into the camps as their homes were ravaged in the conflict between the security forces and the Taliban, the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Monday.

June 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The US has accused private Pakistani channel Geo TV of bias in reporting America's efforts to ameliorate the sufferings of the millions of civilians who have been displaced by the military's anti-Taliban operations in the country's northwest. In an interview with a Geo TV correspondent after visiting a refugee camp near Mardan in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), US special envoy Richard Holbrooke advised the channel to tell the truth to Pakistanis about the huge financial assistance Washington was providing for the displaced persons.

June 5th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Friday called on the US to write off Pakistan's debt to help Islamabad overcome the current economic crisis aggravated by the war on terror, a media report said. Gilani told visiting US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, during a meeting at his house that the debt waver would help Pakistan to mobilise resources for the displaced people in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Geo TV reported.

June 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A majority of Pakistanis oppose the idea of India and Pakistan jointly producing films and shows, a Gallup survey has revealed. The support for such combined media productions has fallen drastically since 2007 due to escalating security tensions between both the countries.

May 12th, 2009 MARDAN - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has said the Taliban insurgent, who are responsible for the displacement of thousands from the war-torn Swat region, do not deserve any sympathy. Urging everyone to come forward and support internally displaced persons (IDPs), Sharif stated that a handful elements could not destabilize Swat.