Millions of Pakistanis have already been displaced by the government’s battle with militants in the country’s northwest. Now the upcoming monsoon threatens to bring more misery to those who have fled their homes.

Some 270,000 families have fled since the army began an offensive against Taliban militants in their Swat valley bastion in late April. United Nations officials say the looming monsoon rains could cause more hardship for the nearly two million people displaced by the battle.

The annual monsoon, which could be stronger than normal this year, might complicate an already challenging situation in the camps where the displaced people stay.

One major threat is that if water supplies are contaminated, diarrhoea, which is already a major problem in the camps, could become even more severe.

[Eric Laroche, World Health Organization]:
"Also, it may lead to a lot of epidemics, and that is a major concern for us. So, I think, we have to be prepared, we try to get prepared."

Most of Pakistan's political parties and members of the public support the recent offensive against the militants. But the government risks seeing that support evaporate if the displaced people are seen to be suffering unnecessarily.