Avoiding collateral damages, the Swat operation would be completed in minimum and shortest possible time to give safe passage to thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their homes in Swat, Dir and Buner, NWFP Chief Minister, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said.
He was talking to media men on the occasion of handing over of relief goods comprising 17 trucks and one container donated by Pakistan Air Force through relief camps set up at all its bases for collection of food and non-food items at Peshawar Airbase.
The CM responding to the PAF contribution said that the Armed forces were custodian of country's sovereignty and their contribution to relief activities was matchless. Thanking the support of the countrymen, Hoti asked the international community to give more financial support and relief goods for the IDPs.
He said the operation was always last option for the settlement of a dispute and the government after taking all stakeholders into confidence launched the operation in Malakand Division to restore its writ. 'We are utilising all our available resources to send the IDPs back to their home, in quickest possible way and we have to face another challenge of their rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas,' Hoti added.
The CM to a query said they have formulated a strategy to keep vigil on the movements of the IDPs, coming from the affected areas as possibility of militants in such movements cannot be ignored. 'We are on the watch and we are using our intelligence to check movement of militants,' he said Further, 'We cannot give a time frame of ending the operation,' he added.
People of Buner are going back to their homes and work on clearing Dir and Buner will be completed soon, but in Swat it may take a little more time because of the sensitivity of the area. 'But I'm not saying that it will take months to clear Swat, as we want to complete the operation in shortest possible and avoid collateral damages, Hoti said.