Image: Salim-ur-Rehman Afridi
Image: Salim-ur-Rehman Afridi
The significance of the mass exodus of nearly a million people (Internally displaced persons or IDPs) from North Waziristan in the wake of the military operation, without any visible plan for their relief and rehabilitation, seems to have escaped the policy makers. Neither the Federal or Provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPk), nor the Army with massive resources at its disposal, was ready for the mass exodus. There was a lack of any prior plans and preparations to manage this crisis in a well-coordinated manner.
Even though the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) and the Army have been attempting to bring their efforts in lockstep, there is no central coordination mechanism and these efforts remain fragmented. The FDMA remains un-prepared, scantily staffed and resource-starved, unable to take the responsibility of managing a relief exercise of this magnitude. The Army is also doing this activity in its own manner, but, obviously, is more focused towards the operation itself.
The IDP situation in the current case is an unusual one. The IDPs are not in centrally established camps where they can be easily reached. The only camp that has been set up is at Bakkakhel, lacks basic facilities and houses just 28 families i.
That in itself puts a question mark on the seriousness of the authorities to deal with this challenge. A majority of the IDPs have been accommodated by host families, or housed in various empty buildings, schools, colleges, go-downs, deserted/destroyed structures, hujras, etc. spread over most of southern KPk. Some of the reasons for this are the lack of basic facilities in the camp, extremely harsh weather conditions and cultural issues. Bannu, a city of one million, is now hosting approximately half a million additional people. Such a situation makes the relief effort extremely difficult and demand innovative approaches since the traditional approaches designed to reach IDPs who are centrally located, will not work.
Out of approximately 800,000 IDPs, roughly 60-65% are in Bannu, 20-25% in surrounding districts like FR Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Kohat, and the neighboring Kurram agency etc. and 10% are spread out in different parts of KPk province. Some families have also moved out to Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi ii. Registration, a gargantuan task given the 0.8 million people needed to be registered, has now been started in Bannu, however, with many of the IDPs scattered at different places, registration has become a very complex issue. The authorities are reluctant to start registration in other cities for risk of mass movement towards settled areas which the government does not desire. At the same time, the IDPs scattered all over cannot get the relief as they are not duly registered or are located far away from the relief distribution points. Another bottleneck is the prerequisite of CNIC card for registration. Due to remoteness, decades’ long conflict and cultural reasons, many people, particularly women, have no CNICs.
There are mainly three relief distribution hubs for distribution of rations, which are located at Bannu, Lakki Marwat and D.I. Khan where IDPs have to come to get relief. Some people find prohibitive the cost of traveling from far-off areas to get a few ration items. Others are unaware of the procedures, locations and the terms and conditions resulting in undue rush and congestion.
According to some reports, some 74% of the IDPS are women and children who are the most vulnerable iii. Special focus on the nutrition needs of the children is of utmost importance. Medical camps and availability of lady doctors is another basic need, as many women who need medical help are living in communities where reaching out to them is very difficult. Mass awareness through innovative means is need of the day. FM radio and other local media channels can be effectively used to keep the communities informed and give awareness about important issues like registration, medical camps, how to tackle different community problems, how to avoid common diseases beside ways to protect the environment, and so forth.
It is extremely difficult to provide community utilities such as water, electricity, health and sanitation facilities in the current situation to the IDPs. The large number of IDPs has put serious strain on community facilities in Bannu and surrounding towns. These towns and villages need to be helped with additional water filtration plants, community washrooms, improving water and sanitation, provision of electricity and building of access roads. With little possibility of the IDPs moving back in the near future, there is a dire need to build up the capacities of towns like Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Sarai Norang, Domel, and other large villages hosting the IDPs.
Another serious issue is the future of the children and youth. Most of the schools and college buildings in the host areas have been occupied by IDPs. Soon after the summer break, these communities will have to face another displacement. This will affect the education of IDP children, as well as host communities. The need is to build proper structures for their shelter. Simultaneously, capacity of local schools needs be enhanced and necessary measures taken for all the school-going children. There is a fear that most of these youth landing in madrassas, or with jihadi outfits, if no alternative mechanisms to engage them are initiated in time. Similarly, temporary vocational schools and training centers could also be introduced for the women and young girls.
The immediate focus of the state institutions should be towards relief and rehabilitation. If this is mismanaged – as, it appears, is happening – it might in fact create more problems, and may even potentially change the nature of this whole conflict, with emergence of more violent, perhaps even anti-state, groups on account of pent-up frustration.
i. Telephone Conversation with Director FDMA at Bannu, Mr Farman. dated 4 July, 2014. Also confirmed from IDPs and volunteers on ground.
ii. North Waziristan Update, dated 6 July 2014, Available at FDMA website. Can be accessed , http://fdma.gov.pk/index.php/news-a-events/144-north-waziristan-updates
iii. Ibid. Also See “Global Peace Pioneers’ IDPs Relief and Rehabilitation Fund” Available at, http://globalpeace.net.pk/files/File/Flash%20Appeal%20for%20Rehabilitation%20and%20Support%20for%20IDPs%20of%20North%20Waziristan%20-%20GPP.pdf
Rizwan Ismail
Within the last decade, around 350,000 people from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been internally displaced owing to militancy, military operations and threats from Taliban. This massive human disaster has not received enough attention from the state and the civil society. FATA Research Centre (FRC), the first ever non-partisan and non-political think-tank to improve understanding of FATA through research and analysis, recently organised a seminar in Islamabad titled ‘The IDPs of FATA: Issues and Challenges’. It encompassed a diverse pool of opinions from speakers like Jan Muhammad Achakzai (Official Spokesperson of Jamiat Ulema Islam-F), Ibrahim Shinwari (Political Analyst and Journalist), Gul Bat Khan Afridi (Head of IDP’s Shura, FATA), Syed Zaheer Ul Islam Shah (DG Provincial Disaster Management Authority), Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel (Awami National Party), and Ahmer Bilal Soofi (Minister for Law & Justice).
Dr. Ashraf Ali, President FATA Research Centre, introduced that the major portion of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) comes from Kurram, Khyber, and Orakzai Agencies, and South Waziristan because of the on-going military operations against TTP. “They have left their homes to avoid the effects of armed conflicts, bomb blasts, shelling, drone attacks and various other kinds of terrorist attacks which have absolutely shattered peace of the region.” He stated. Worsening economic situation was also highlighted by Mr. Ibrahim Shinwari, a political analyst and journalist, as another major cause of displacement. He elaborated that while there were already fewer economic opportunities in FATA, other important avenues such as smuggling that supported a large number of people have been monopolized by the militants.
Ibrahim Shinwari, further speaking about the ground realities, stated that the official figures do not illustrate the situation clearly in terms of human loss and suffering. Nothing less than around 165,000 families are forced to flee their homes and stay outside in tents and temporary places in the areas like Hangu, Peshawar, Karachi, Fateh Nawab, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Talking about the miserable conditions that IDPs are living in, he said, “People especially the females and children are suffering from great many psychological problems. Life has become so difficult that even a husband and wife are not able to talk or sit together because of the over-crowdedness.” He went further to highlight the consequences of such negligence by pointing out that the educated unemployed youth of the IDPs is at a serious risk of falling into the hands of militants just to get some money and other material benefits to feed and support their families.
Sharing his own experiences and those of his fellow IDPs, Gul Bat Khan Afridi, head of IDP’s Shura, spoke very critical of the insufficient efforts of state authorities to address their plight. He said, “We the tribal people have always been sacrificing for the nation, for the country, and will continue to do so. But we get nothing in return. With virtually no education and health facilities, our youth has no future. We are worse off than the Afghan refugees. The food is always short, the registration system is cumbersome and slow, and there is no transportation and security. Last time there was a bomb blast in our camps killing 18 people, no one took the notice. And still the camps are totally open and vulnerable to any such attack.”
Syed Zaheer-ul-Islam Shah, DG Provincial Disaster Management Authority, was defensive by focusing on nuances of the issue. He said, “The situation is quite complicated in terms of various actors involved; on one hand there are international stake holders interested in maintaining regional hegemony in the region, while on the other hand there are militants eager to impose their version of Islam by waging war against the west. Then there are internal rifts among militants too, various groups are in continuous tussle to gain control over the area. Selective support of these militants by the powerful actors further increases the complications.”
He contested the notion that the IDPs are in extremely wretched conditions by pointing out that they are getting free electricity, food, education and health facilities. “Apart from some camps, others like Jalozai, Toap Srai, and New Durrani are very safe. Even after some areas in FATA being declared clear by the army, people still want to live in these camps.” He briefed.
It needs to be seen, however, whether this is the better conditions at the camps or the uncertainty of situation back home that is forcing people not to go back. It could also be a combination of the both.
Rest of the speakers including Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel, Jan Muhammad Achakzai and Ahmer Bilal Soofi were more generic in approaching the issue. They spoke of long term policies and strategic problems.
Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of Awami National Party traced the historical and contextual factors behind the militancy. He opined that FATA always used to be quite peaceful. This mess started in Zia’s era and reached its peak during Musharaf’s. Since militants took over, they have killed about 1000 tribal leaders and have held people hostage. He further added, “Without peace in FATA, peace in Pakistan will not be possible. We can forgive the blood of our 800 martyrs including that of Basheer Bilour and the son of Mian Iftikhar if militants are ready to give up their arms and have negotiations.”

On the other hand, Jan Muhammad Achakzai, the official spokesperson of JUIF, was keener at emphasizing failure of the government and suggesting a different course of action. He blamed government’s erroneous policy on terrorism as the primary cause for IDP crisis. He was of the opinion that all the military operations must stop followed by peaceful negotiations with the militants, only such as approach can tackle the IDP problem.
Ahmer Bilal Soofi’s conclusive talk spoke of a strategy to counter the root cause behind the whole problem of internal displacement, i.e. terrorism. He greatly emphasized on countering the extremist mind set by reforming religious educations and the clergy. “We have to teach our religious scholars and madrassa leadership the significance of international system as it has evolved since the end of Second World War. They must be made to understand international treaties and narcissist delusions medieval time should be rooted out. By understanding international system and the significance of peaceful coexistence, we can overcome the problem of terrorism hence of IDPs.” He concluded.
(Published in The Laaltain – May 2013)