UNICEF warns of displaced Pakistanis

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 25 (UPI) -- UNICEF says nearly 1 million internally displaced people in Pakistan may still be displaced by conflicts in December.

UNICEF emergency office Director Louis-Georges Arsenault said while 1 million people will likely return to their homes in northwestern Pakistan by September, nearly 1 million more likely will remain displaced, the Integrated Regional Information Networks reported Thursday.

The North West Frontier Province government's emergency response unit said 907 families returned to the regional before July 15.

NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said ongoing efforts in the province to relocate displaced residents have already resulted in two refugee camps being closed.

"We are now beginning the process of repatriating people housed in schools as many of those from camps have returned of their own accord," Hussain told IRIN.

Meanwhile, Aresenault warns that nearly 1 million children in the region will likely be unable to attend school in September as Taliban forces have destroyed numerous school buildings in Pakistan's Swat Valley.