N Waziristan IDPs without food package for 3 months

Around 15,000 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) hailing from North Waziristan have been without their monthly food ration for the past three months, forcing them to stage a week long protest in Bannu to record their dissatisfaction.

Talking to The Express Tribune a local elder Malik Rehmatullah blamed that provision of food packages provided to the IDPs families had been ended without any reason and it was causing great discomfort to the poor people.

He also blamed that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) was also delaying the payment of stipend to families which was also causing unrest among the IDPs. “Every family is paid Rs12,000 per month which is a small sum but we are constantly facing delay in its payment too,” he said, adding that some families had not been paid for the past five or even six months.

“We demand the resumption of food packages immediately and the payment of monthly financial aid on time,” he said, adding that around 5,000 families of IDPs were living in Afghanistan who were not registered with the government and they are not being provided with food or financial assistance.

“We demand that the Angor Adda border point as well as Ghulam Khan border point be opened to allow these IDPs free movement,” he added.

“A large number of IDPs are still living in Khost Gilan Camp who should be relocated to their ancestral towns as soon as possible,” he demanded Rehmatullah.

When contacted an official of PDMA told the Express Tribune that there were 15,229 families of IDPs registered with them who are paid Rs12,000 per month financial support as well as a food package containing 80 kilogram of flour, five kilogram of oil and five kilogram of pulses.

“They are being paid but the food package is delayed and it is given to each family in the month of March which is due in January,” he said, adding that Rs180.46 millions were paid to the families each month.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2021.