A job well done

THE Army has given COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani the satisfaction of seeing the repatriation of the internally displaced persons of the Malakand Division. The security forces did a great job of purging the area of the militants and paving the way for the IDPs to return to their homes two months after the launching of the military operation in the restive region. Chairing the 120th Corps Commanders' conference on Saturday, he briefed the participants about the issues related to national security, paid tributes to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives and lauded the efforts of all those involved in the resettlement process.

The appreciation comes at a time when the security forces have moved on to fight the extremists operating in the tribal belt. The Army knows it has to tread carefully to prevent the regrouping of the militants in the Malakand Division, where troops would stay on until the provincial administration revamps the civilian agencies and enhances their capacity to a level where they could reclaim their position as the primary law enforcement apparatus. The NWFP government is planning to spend Rs 25 billion on making the local security infrastructure fully operational. The plan includes doubling the number of police officers and equipping the police force with state-of-the-art weapons and communication systems.

The need for revamping the security infrastructure cannot be disputed, but it should not be carried out at the cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation. Those returning to their homes after spending much time in the makeshift camps set up across the province, need to be properly looked after and provided funds for restarting their businesses and resuming their normal lives. For that, the federal government will have to share the burden with the cash-strapped provincial government until the world positively responds to the repeated appeals from the UN Secretary General to help the crisis-stricken people of Swat.