US seeks further 200 million dollars for Pakistan refugees (Roundup)

Islamabad - The United States is seeking an additional 200 million dollars to help some 2.5 million Pakistanis uprooted by the ongoing military offensive against Taliban in north-western region, a senior US envoy said Wednesday. 'The president has requested the Congress of the United States to allocate an additional 200 million dollars,' said envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. He was holding a joint press conference with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad. Nearly 2.5 million people have been displaced from Swat and its three neighbouring districts since early last month when the government launched a major push against the militants. Only 20 per cent of the displaced are living in refugee camps set up in North-Western Frontier Province, where Swat is located, and other parts of the country. The remaining 80 per cent are staying with relatives. The operation, which has resulted in the elimination of about 1,250 militants, according to the government, enjoys wide public support, but analysts have warned the support would vanish if the government does not provide adequate relief to the refugees. The discontent was already visible when scores of displaced by army action, which has been cheered by Washington and other Western countries, held a rally Wednesday to protest the government's failure to provide sufficient food and shelter. Chanting slogans 'We need food' and 'We need peace,' about 200 demonstrators marched on a busy street in the capital, Islamabad. 'The government is doing nothing for us,' said Mohammad Alam, 35, a shopkeeper from Mingora, the main town in Swat. 'We get no money, no wheat flour, no sugar, no medicine. 'My eight family members are staying with my cousin who has been feeding us all for the last month,' he adddd. 'He is a poor man and cannot afford us too long. It's the government who should support us.' The Pakistani government has appealed to the international community for 1 billion dollars in help for the war refugees, but so far, only about one-fourth of the required amount has been delivered. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday complained that only one-fifth of the 543 million dollars requested by the United Nations has been received. 'If we do not get the rest of the funds, we will have to start cutting services,' he told an informal session of the 192-member UN General Assembly. Holbrooke urged other nations including the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to do more to assists Pakistan in handling the refugee crisis, as they had common interest to join the US in supporting Pakistan. 'It is in our own interest as instability in Pakistan is not good,' Holbrooke said. The slow pace of the operation and the inability of the security forces to make some major towns safe for living are also causing the residents to question the usefulness of the offensive. 'We don't believe in the government's claim of having killed so many Taliban,' said Mohammad Tariq, 45, a government employee from Matta, a small town in Swat. 'These are just lies. The soldiers kill civilians and say these are Taliban.' 'This operation is not working. What is the difference? Previously the military was in the mountains and the Taliban were in the cities, but now the Taliban are in the mountains and the military in the cities,' he said. 'Fighting anyway goes on, and we cannot return to our homes,' he added. And the country's president Zardari himself was clueless when the conflict could be completely over. 'To say that the war is won or that the war is going well is too soon. We have a war of ideology to fight, we have a war where we have hearts and minds to win,' he told the presser in Islamabad. Despite growing discontent among the displaced people, the government forces continued action against the Taliban Wednesday. The army said in a statement it had retaken control of the small town of Charbagh, 15 kilometres north-east of Mingora. Separately, Taliban fighters raided the Baidarra checkpoint north of Matta, resulting in a fierce exchange of fire in which three insurgents were killed, the military said. One soldier died and two others were wounded in the clash, the army statement said.