<div><p>Pakistan battled to provide relief for more than 1.45 million people who fled its anti-Taliban offensive, admitting the enormity of the challenge as fears grew Wednesday about a lengthening crisis.</p><p>Pakistan ordered the offensive last month under huge US pressure to crush militants in the northwest, which Washington said threatened the very existence of the Muslim country and posed the greatest terror threat to the West.</p><p>As the conflict ploughs on with no end in sight, concerns are mounting about how to cope with the displaced, uprooted in what rights groups have called Pakistan's biggest movement of people since partition from India in 1947.</p><p>Tens of thousands of people are living in government-run camps, crammed into tents in the scorching summer heat with poor sanitation, full of anger against an offensive they say stripped them of their homes and crops.</p><p>Hundreds of thousands more are staying with relatives scattered elsewhere, complicating the international relief effort to reach the massive numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs).</p><p>"Neither we nor the government expected this number of refugees, of IDPs. The government is doing as much as possible to give support to the families," said Rienk Van Velzen, World Vision regional communications director.</p><p>"There is much need for the longer term... I think it will be at least four or five weeks, if not longer (before the crisis is over)," he added.</p><p>Pakistan has appointed a well respected military officer, Brigadier General Nadeem Ahmad, to head its emergency response and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called for an international donors' conference in Islamabad.</p><p>President Asif Ali Zardari was scheduled to convene a top-level meeting of government and UN officials Wednesday on relief and rehabilitation efforts.</p><p>Holding talks with visiting Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay, Gilani said Pakistan was fighting the Taliban on two fronts -- militarily in the mountains and in trying to cope with the humanitarian crisis.</p><p>The government and civil society faced a "gigantic task" in providing relief to the displaced people, whose number was likely to swell, he said.</p><p> US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised what she described as a "national mood change" against the Taliban in Pakistan and unveiled 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid for the displaced.</p><p> The new funds would be used to deliver tents, FM radios, halal meat, water trucks, generators and other supplies, Clinton said. Some of the money would also go towards buying Pakistani wheat to boost the local economy.</p><p>Rashid Khalikov, director of the UN humanitarian office in New York, warned aid workers were struggling to reach many of those who fled as the number of displaced increased with "absolutely horrible speed."</p><p>"It's very difficult to be prepared for one million displaced and I think it is a serious threat for any government," he told AFP.</p><p>Pakistan's military says up to 15,000 troops are taking on 4,000 well-armed fighters in Swat, where Islamabad has ordered a battle to eradicate fighters who advanced to within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the Pakistani capital.</p><p>Military officials and official statements give upbeat assessments about the operation, inflicting heavy casualties on "terrorists" and making territorial gains, but there is no indication of an immediate end in sight.</p><p>The thrust of the operation has been conducted by jet fighters and attack helicopters, which critics blame for civilian casualties, but with the military slapping down calls to mobilise more troops to the area.</p><p>Political analyst Anees Jillani said Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pashtun nationalist Awami National Party (ANP), which dominates the regional government in the northwest, could become unstuck over the crisis.</p><p>"It will reflect very badly in next elections. Both the PPP and ANP shall suffer if their government did not manage the IDPs efficiently," said Jillani.</p><p>"Pakistan's army is one of the largest in the world, but it has deployed only 15,000 troops in Swat. Why not 100,000 or 200,000 to finish off just 4,000 militants?" he said.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=50756261&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP South Asian Edition</a></div></div>