Pakistani leaders convened a top-level meeting Wednesday to discuss ways to help a massive swell of Pakistanis displaced by the military offensive against the Taliban in Swat Valley.
The United Nations said about 1.5 million people have been displaced by fighting in northwestern Pakistan this month alone, in addition to the more than 500,000 previously displaced.
Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said urgently needed humanitarian aid provided by the United States has arrived in the country. The shipments include air-conditioned tents, 120,000 pre-packed meals, and other supplies for those displaced in North West Frontier Province.
The aid arrived one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the U.S. is sending $110 million in humanitarian aid to Pakistan.
A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, Ron Redmond, has said he has not seen a displacement crisis grow "so big and so fast in years."
On the military front, army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas reported that 80 militants were killed in the Taliban stronghold of Sultanwas late Tuesday. He said one soldier died and nine others were injured.
News
