Pakistan Swat valley roads reopen

BBC: The Pakistani military is preparing to reopen roads into the conflict-hit Swat valley and neighbouring regions.

The move is intended to encourage people displaced by earlier fighting against the Taliban to return home.

About two million have already returned to the area, but damage to the region's infrastructure means returnees will rely on aid for months to come.

The UN has stressed that the return, which will begin with people living in temporary camps, must be voluntary.

Once people have been moved from the camps, the army will begin returning people who have been living in schools and other places since they fled the fighting between Taliban militants and government forces.

The return is being overseen by the substantial military presence established in the Swat, Malakand and Buner regions after Taliban militants were dislodged.

Damaged infrastructure

General Nadeem Ahmad, who is coordinating the operation, said every family leaving the camps would receive cash support from the government.

Gen Ahmad had a similar role following the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir.

A computerised identity card system, which was developed then through the banks, is being used again to help registered users access state aid.

However, much of the infrastructure in the Swat region was severely damaged in the months of fighting.

Power and water supplies have been shattered and the reconstruction is expected to take many months.

A resident of the town of Sultanwas, in Buner province, told the Associated Press that if the government failed to provide for people's needs, "no one will stand against militant extremism in the future".

"In this war we lost and gave everything, saw our village destroyed," said Muhamed Shereen.

"So now the people of Sultanwas look to the government and the whole country and world to come forward and help us."

The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, who recently visited Swat's main town, Mingora, said the town was largely intact, with markets and residential areas still standing.

But the security situation remains uncertain and supplies are critically low, he says.