Pakistani displaced people's situation

Hundreds of displaced Pakistanis have waited at Got Koto to return to their homes in the Swat Valley.

Frustration and disappointment were evident on June the 6th. Most of the refugees had been evacuated during the worst of the fighting between government forces and entrenched Taliban militants.

The people had heard reports the government would lift a curfew in the main town of Mingora to let them return home.

The army went into Swat more than a month ago, after the militants undermined the peace deal brokered earlier this year.

Internally displaced girls, who fled a military offensive in the  Swat valley region, stand along a canal running through the UNHCR  (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Yar Hussain camp in  Swabi district, about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Pakistan's  capital Islamabad June 8, 2009.REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

The army's top spokesman has estimated it will take at least another two months before the Valley is cleared of militants.

The army chief told commanders on Thursday the tide in Swat had "decisively turned."

He said major population centers and roads leading to the valley were rid of Taliban resistance, but security forces were still hunting top Taliban commanders. About 160-thousand displaced Pakistanis are now living in relief camps.

The US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke has visited Pakistan. He said the White House hopes Congress will agree to at least 200 million US dollars more in aid.