No arrangements in sight for one million IDPs

The displacement from Dir Lower and Buner districts has raised the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in NWFP to nearly one million with no proper arrangements in sight for the recently uprooted individuals.

The ongoing military operation against militants in Maidan, Dir Lower, and some parts of Buner district has left thousands of people homeless, who have migrated to the nearby towns and districts of the province. The provincial government has set up interim relief camps for the IDPs from Maidan in Timergara and Chakdara in Dir Lower while for the IDPs from Buner some temporary camps have been established in Mardan and Swabi districts.

According to Amnesty International report, a total of some 65,000 civilians had abandoned their homes in Dir Lower and Buner districts till Thursday. “There is no sign that the government has prepared for the exodus of civilians,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director. “As the military operations extend to more areas the government has to ensure that the fleeing civilians have adequate food, shelter and health care facilities. Eyewitnesses told the Amnesty International in Timergara that at least 28 to 30 houses had been completely destroyed while dozens of houses have been partially damaged”.

However, Al Khidmat Foundation, a welfare wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, claimed that about 100,000 people had fled the fighting between security forces and militants in Dir Lower. An activist of Al Khidmat Foundation said that the foundation had started relief activities to the displaced people in Timergara and Chakdara where the government made no proper arrangements for the IDPs.

Acting Provincial Relief Commissioner Younas Javed says that the district administration of Dir Lower had established relief camps in Timergara Commerce College, Degree College and in some schools and Chakdara where proper arrangements for the fresh IDPs had been ensured. However, he said that according to the report submitted by the district coordination officer of Dir Lower office, only 230 families had been registered at the relief camps in Timergara. Some camps for the IDPs from Bajaur Agency have also been set up at Munda and Jundol areas of the Dir Lower where thousands of IDPs have been lodged.

Similarly, he said, temporary camps in Yar Hussain, Swabi and Jalala, Shehzad Town and Rustam had been set up. The official said that a low number of IDPs from Buner had been registered at the official camps as majority of the conflict-affected people were living either with their relatives or in rented houses in Mardan and Swabi.

A delegation from NWFP, led by Provincial Minister for Social Welfare Ms Sitara Ayaz, returned from Geneva on Thursday where the donor agencies and developed nations were asked to provide more assistance to the NWFP government for rehabilitation of IDPs from Bajaur Agency and Swat district.

Approximately 550,000 IDPs have either been registered or are in the process of registration in the NWFP. Just over 300,000 have been registered outside camps in 11 districts of the province, while registration forms for an additional 29,000 families or approximately 175,000 individuals have been received, but have yet to be entered into the IDP database.

The registered population of the 11 official camps now stands at 75,000. The conflict-affected people from South and North Waziristan agencies, Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency and Dara Adamkhel area are yet to be registered, whose number could be estimated in thousands who have settled in Peshawar and southern districts of the province.