The IDPs have started going back home. The sacrifices these people made for Pakistan are praiseworthy as they spent two of the worst summer months out of the cool climes of Swat/Malakand to help Pakistan Army launch an operation in their area. There is no doubt these people will be returning to misery. Their houses are mostly gutted or damaged beyond repair, their businesses have collapsed and the routine of their lives disturbed, at least for the moment. The unemployment is rampant and shortages of goods rife in their areas. The only hope these people have for their future is that their sacrifices would not be forgotten. It is not an easy task for government to settle these people overnight. It is obvious that some of these people are not ready to go back to their homes because the facilities and treatment they got in camps did not exactly inspire confidence about our government. But they are totally dependent on the government to help them rebuild their lives. We will have to formulate long term policies for rehabilitation of these displaced people. The solution of this problem lies in collective efforts by our people at large, our government and the international community. Every one of them has to play its role. -FARHAT KONAIN SHUJAHI, Islamabad, via e-mail, July 14.