Out of mind, not out of sight

Public memory is proverbially short. Among the issues fading fast from our collective concern is that of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan. However, with the census right around the corner, political leaders are suddenly beginning to take notice of the repercussions of the displacement. Regrettably, their interest is more in the demographics and how the missing numbers would affect their vote banks rather than the human tragedy of the situation.

That is why two recent reports on the subject are all the more welcome. They go beyond the statistics to focus on the impact the massive displacement has had on the lives of Pakistanis. It was shortly after the worst flood in Pakistan’s history that Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) released its report “Pakistan: The Worsening IDP Crisis” last September. However, the report covers more than the homelessness and displacement caused by massive flooding. It points to a poignant fact: Many among those uprooted by the floods were just beginning to return to homes they had abandoned due to military action in their areas.

Displacement of large communities in Pakistan has been caused by a combination of factors. Natural disasters apart, both the threat of militants and the military action against them have led to a shifting of population on massive scales. The ICG report, for example, gives the figure of those displaced in Khyber Agency alone — in less than a month in 2009 — as ranging between 56,000 to 100,000. Similarly, in October 2009, when the army launched an operation in South Waziristan against the Tehreek-i-Taliban of Hakimullah Mehsud, 428,000 people fled. This was more than half of the agency’s population, according to the ICG report.

Internally displaced persons first came to public attention following the army action against the Bugtis in Balochistan in 2006, leading to the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti. Many homeless Balochis sought shelter in parts of Sindh, including the suburbs of Karachi, where they were totally dependent on charitable organisations for sustenance.

The internally displaced people fleeing to Sindh from Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have also had to confront deep suspicion from the local leadership of Karachi. While concern at the city’s capacity to absorb more migrants (even if temporary) can be understood, there have been moves to label them as ‘Taliban’ — the very persecutors they were trying to escape. Politics and the rivalry for exercise of control over the city took precedence over humanitarian concerns. However, closer to home, in parts of KP, the IDPs found warm-hearted and generous support from kinsmen and local communities. Many opened their doors to them and continued to put them up over a considerable period of time, greatly lessening the load on the government.

The HRCP report “Internal Displacement in Pakistan: Contemporary Challenges” has, therefore,rightly focused on the more vulnerable sections of society displaced as a result of militancy and natural disasters. If the condition of women and children is pitiable, that of the minorities is precarious. For example, ten of the fifteen Sikh families living in lower Orakzai were forced to leave the tribal agency when the Taliban imposed a jaziya tax of Rs50 million on them. And 500 Ahmadi families, displaced by floods in Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur districts, had to, yet again, face bigotry when government officials, succumbing to threats from local clerics, refused to provide any relief to them.

While a string of crises in Pakistan has led to the displacement of thousands of its citizens, the federal and provincial governments have yet to adopt clear policies and strategies to prevent large scale movement of people. Acting after the event has resulted in the current tragic situation from which most Pakistanis are rapidly turning away.





Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2011.