Welcoming IDPs home

About 38 per cent of IDPs have returned to their hometowns in North and South Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai agencies

The tribal areas have been at the centre of conflict for nearly a decade now and there is an unfortunate tendency to take the instability there as a matter of routine. With Operation Zarb-e-Azb gathering pace over the last year-and-a-half, thousands of citizens from the tribal areas have been displaced, seeking refuge in cities like Karachi and Peshawar. There are now reports that some 38 per cent of IDPs have returned to their hometowns in North and South Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai agencies. Most remarkably, 78 per cent of IDPs from Khyber Agency have returned home, according to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations.

While the resettlement of the IDPs in their homes is welcome, this should only be considered a start. What is needed now is the rehabilitation of the infrastructure of Fata on a mega scale. The newly inaugurated 110-bed hospital in Mir Ali is impressive, but not nearly close to what is required for the 108,503 families, which have returned home. The cadet college being built to give rebirth to a culture of education and create jobs will need to be safeguarded. Basic amenities such as roads and access ways, markets and hospitals need to be provided. Most importantly, primary schooling is one area that needs renewed focus, with 360 schools having been destroyed in Fata so far in 2015. Unless these basics are established, it will be painstakingly difficult to resettle IDPs because a lack of attention to the residents’ needs could foster resentment. These people made a huge sacrifice by abandoning their homes for the sake of the country. Neglect by those they sacrificed for will leave them more amenable to militant tendencies — militants who might be trying to make their way back to these areas. Resettled IDPs deserve a life of normalcy, and working to achieve this is the responsibility of both, civilian and military administrations, but especially the former. The military side of the campaign to free Fata from the clutches of militants may have succeeded to some extent. The civilians now need to step up and play their part.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2015.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.