Children in Pakistan

Children in Pakistan

According to Pakistani authorities and the UN, at least 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have now been registered as a result from recent fighting and on-going military operations against the Taliban in Pakistan's Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir districts. Refugee families are often made up of only women and children, the older men staying behind to care for their homes and crops. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes issued a desperate appeal for hundreds of millions of dollars to help those who have fled the war, warning that the U.N. can only sustain its current aid efforts for one month. Photographers in the area have captured many powerful images of those affected, some of the most striking focused on children,

Hamida, a six-year old internally displaced girl who fled a military offensive in the Swat valley region, sits outside the food distribution tent at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district, about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Pakistan's capital Islamabad June 9, 2009. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro)

2 Pakistani children wait for hours in line for dinner at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) #

3 Pakistani girls stand near their tents at night May 31, 2009 in Jalozai camp, 15 k from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

4 A boy stands by as Pakistani men line up to register for ID cards at the Chota Lahore refugee camp, at Swabi, in northwest Pakistan, Wednesday, May 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Greg Baker) #

5 Boys, internally displaced from the Pakistan Army's offensive against the Taliban, in Swat and Buner, play on a swing at a relief camp on May 18, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) #

6 A young woman peers out from a torn curtain near her tent as the wind and dust blows making conditions in the massive tent city become more difficult May 31, 2009 in Jalozai camp, 15 k from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) #

7 Internally displaced children scramble to get a piece of ice being handed out by aid workers at the Chota Lahore relief camp on May 20, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) #

8 A Pakistani girl peers over part of a makeshift tent in Chota Lahore Refugee Camp in Swabi, Pakistan on Wednesday, May 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

9 Displaced Pakistani boys play on the ruins of a former Afghan refugee house in Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, June 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

10 Boys sit, silhouetted at sunset as women wearing burqas walk past at the UNHCR Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district, in Pakistan on June 2, 2009. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif) #

11 A displaced girl looks out from her tent in Shah Mansour refugee camp, in northwest Pakistan, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

12 Pakistani boys play in the dirt next to their tents in Jalozai refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, June 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

13 A young girl waits for her turn during a food distribution for internally displaced people organized by World Food Program in Mardan, in northwest Pakistan, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) #

14 Pakistani children relax in a playground at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) #

15 An internally displaced girl from the Swat valley region wears a food bowl over her head while standing in line for curry and bread at the UNHCR Yar Hussain camp in Swabi district in Pakistan on June 2, 2009. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)