NEW DELHI (AlertNet) - The presence of Pakistani soldiers and intelligence agents inside camps for war-displaced civilians may jeopardise their security and provide a soft target to Taliban militants looking to carry out revenge attacks, aid workers are warning.
Around 2.5 million people in the north of the country have been uprooted by a military offensive to expel Taliban insurgents from the picturesque region of Swat valley.
Over the past month, hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes and sought refuge in camps run by aid agencies or within host communities in neighbouring areas.
But relief workers are worried the safety of these families could be compromised by a government drive to weed out any Taliban fighters and their sympathisers who might be hiding among the displaced families.
Intelligence agents, present inside the camps, have arrested dozens of people and human rights groups say there is no information as to where they have been taken and what will happen to them.
Furthermore, aid workers say the presence of the military who have established field hospitals in some camps may exacerbate a tense situation.
"While we understand the need to root out militants, we are very concerned about the protection of the internally displaced people (IDPs)," said one aid worker, who declined to be named.
"Having uniformed, armed soldiers inside the camps, albeit doing humanitarian work, will bring the conflict inside the camps as the Taliban who are under pressure, are looking for soft targets for their revenge."
Since the military offensive began in early May, the Taliban have warned of retaliation and there has been a string of attacks throughout the country.
In the latest incident, nine people, including two U.N. staff members, were killed after a suicide attack on PeshawarÂ?s top hotel on Tuesday.
HEAVY-HANDEDNESS
Aid workers say that although arrests and incidents of troops in camps are not widespread at the moment, they are worried that as the offensive widens to Taliban strongholds along the Afghan border, more systematic arrests and human rights violations may occur.
"People in areas like South Waziristan support the Taliban and hate the military so it is very different from Swat where army had support," said one aid worker.
"There is a mutual suspicion between them and we fear the army will be much more heavy-handed in its response to dealing not only with the militants there, but also the civilians."
Concerns are growing among some aid groups that if the military campaign spreads to areas which are considered sanctuaries for the militants, Pakistan will use similiar tactics to those employed by Sri Lanka during its 26-year-old war against Tamil Tiger separatists.
Sri Lankan authorities set up screening centres to filter out combatants from Tamil civilians in a process which aid groups say was not transparent, citing reports of disappearances.
Aid workers say the lack of access to the screening process raised fears of human rights violations where innocent civilians may have be targeted.
"My concern is that the army is clearly modelling its campaign on the Sri Lankan campaign against the Tigers -- they put everyone in camps and then took out all those who suspected to have ties with the militants and itÂ?s a very bloody messy business to do this," said an aid worker, who is involved in providing protection to displaced civilians.
"Our concern in Pakistan is that they start doing this on a big, massive scale."
Aid groups say they continue to discuss the issue with the Pakistani government "behind closed doors", adding that given the sensitivity of the subject, quiet diplomacy is likely to be more effective than going public.
"Yes, we know its happening but we have to remember that it is the prerogative of the host government to insure security,"
said one senior aid official. "We will continue to bring up the issue, but at the end of the day, how much can we really do about it?"
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
