U.N. says supports return of Pakistan's displaced

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By Jason Subler

ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations stands ready to help with the return of people displaced by fighting between Pakistani security forces and militants, despite concerns over whether the conditions are right, a top U.N. official said.

Pakistan announced on Thursday that it planned to start bringing the roughly 2 million people who fled the conflict in the northwest back home in stages from next Monday. [ID:nISL490819]

Their plight is a sensitive issue for the government, which could see support for its more than two-month offensive against the Taliban eroded if they are seen to be suffering unduly.

U.N. Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said on Friday his organisation hoped to see the displaced return to their homes as soon as possible, but that the security situation and basic services needed to be acceptable before they do so.

"This is something that we have been discussing intensively with the government, to make sure that from our point of view we are satisfied that the conditions are right. Our main concern is to make sure that people are not forced to return before they're ready," Holmes told reporters in the Pakistani capital.

"The worst of all possible worlds would be if people went back home to some of the areas and then had to leave again because the situation was not satisfactory," he said.

Most of the internally displaced people (IDPs) are living with family or friends in so-called host communities, while about 280,000 are living in tent camps. [ID:nISL507186]

About 380,000 people have already returned to the district of Buner, but the situation in the former tourist valley of Swat, northwest of Islamabad, is less certain.

NEED FOR PRAGMATISM

The army has pushed Taliban militants out of Swat's towns and it controls the main lines of communication, but clashes have flared in some areas and many residents remain fearful of returning after having their homes ransacked or destroyed.

Government officials say more than 1,700 militants have been killed in the fighting -- independent casualty estimates are unavailable -- but none of the top militant leaders in the area has been killed, leading to fears the fighters could re-emerge.

The military launched the offensive in late April after Taliban aggression and advances prompted concern over the stability of the U.S. ally and its nuclear arsenal.

Holmes said that, while the United Nations was working with the government to establish a strategy for returning the displaced, it could potentially have to scale back its help if the returns were not voluntary or other humanitarian principles were not followed.

"If the returns are done in such a way that we would have great difficulty with them, then that would affect the degree to which we would be able to support those operations," he said.

"We have to be pragmatic about this as well. The conditions may not be 100 percent right in all areas, we recognise that."

Holmes stressed that, although the United Nations has received about 42 percent of a $543 million aid appeal it launched in May, it was important for international donors to come through with funds to help it deal with the challenge of aiding the displaced both in the camps and on their return.

"Even if the returns are significant and rapid ... we expect the humanitarian needs to be considerable for the rest of the year," he said. (Editing by Robert Birsel and Sugita Katyal)