More terror for IDPs

The blast at Jalozai goes to highlight this and reminds us of the kind of brutality we are up against.

The tens of thousands of people still displaced in the country as a result of fighting in their home areas in the north have faced some very tough times indeed. They have seen houses and lands destroyed before them, gunfights in their villages and regular death. Reports speak of the deep trauma suffered by children, and of course, the unceasing difficulties of people faced with a situation that has continued unchanged year after year, with no end yet in sight.

Even when these people escape to refugee camps, in the hope of finding safety, shelter and some support, it seems they are not safe. The blast at the Jalozai Camp near Nowshera underscores this point. Some 15 persons, including aid workers, were killed when a car bomb exploded near a ration distribution point at the camp on March 21, as food was being distributed to thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) based at the camp. Most of these people are from the Khyber Agency, where fighting has recently intensified between troops and militants, notably in the strategically crucial Tirah Valley. It is thought the blast may be linked to this stepped up fighting. Indeed camp officials say threats had been coming in for some days, leading to NGOs briefly closing schools and health centres at the camp. These were only recently reopened.

The attack on obviously hapless people is an especially callous one. Investigations are on to identify and nab the culprits. The Taliban have condemned the blast and the deaths of tribal people. In Khyber Agency, there are, of course, different groups involved in fighting, with the degree of Taliban involvement somewhat obscure. This highlights just how complex the battle being fought in our country is and the extent to which ordinary people are the victims of a war not of their own making. The blast at Jalozai, the largest IDP camp still in operation, goes to highlight this and reminds us of the kind of brutality we are up against, with the killers unwilling to spare people who have already lost everything.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2013.