Doing the operation right

Success of Zarb-e-Azb will not depend on how many militants are killed but on how Pakistan deals with IDPs.

After months of deliberation, failed negotiations and an indecisive political leadership, the Pakistan military finally rolled into North Waziristan and began Operation Zarb-e-Azb. As aerial bombardment and ‘softening up’ of targets began, massive amounts of locals living in North Waziristan were forced out of their homes yet again.

Many had been of the opinion that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his close advisers were against a military operation in North Waziristan for they feared violent blowback from terrorist cells in urban Punjab. While such an outcome has not occurred, the ruling party has trapped itself in a crisis of its own making. The deadly and brutal assault on supporters of Tahirul Qadri helped turn a political nobody into a direct threat to the status quo in Punjab. At a time when all the attention of the government and the media should have been on the military operation and the plight of displaced Pakistanis, focus turned on the farcical drama being played out in the streets of Islamabad and Lahore.

The United Nations has put the number of displaced at close to half a million, with over 50,000 seeking refuge in Afghanistan — the fact that Pakistanis now seek refuge in Afghanistan is proof of how things have deteriorated in our country. Preliminary reports coming out of Bannu and other areas paint a sorry picture where authorities have been heavy-handed with frustrated refugees seeking basic necessities. With nowhere to go to in the blazing summer heat, these Pakistanis are rightfully angry at the lack of basic provisions. One must ask why, despite knowing of the imminent military operation weeks in advance, the government was unable to better mobilise its resources? The current government has addressed this issue with a complete lack of interest; while monstrous amounts of funds have been allocated for the questionable Metro Bus project, insufficient money has been allocated for IDPs. One wonders how the government expects these refugees, whose family size is much larger than average, to survive on basic provision of seven to 10 thousand rupees!

The influx of refugees presents yet another challenge for which the government and its administration is ill-prepared for: polio. For over two years residents of North Waziristan have been unable to have access to polio vaccines for their children. With these residents now displaced, the risk of a polio outbreak across the region are very high. The Pakistani strain of polio has already been found in a number of other countries and the refugee crisis within Pakistan presents a major health threat to the entire region. The World Health Organisation has already placed travel restrictions on Pakistanis and should this disease spread further, countries might completely ban travellers from Pakistan. On the flipside, an opportunity also exists to deal with this polio threat in a decisive manner. Isolated for years, health workers can finally be mobilised to vaccinate IDPs coming out of North Waziristan. This requires a comprehensive strategy on the part of the government and sadly, like every other issue, the government is not prepared.

At a time when our military is fighting in North Waziristan, our politicians and media have been focused on petty issues and political point-scoring. There is a need to mobilise the nation in order to deal with the emerging humanitarian crisis, for failure to do so will quickly erode public support for Zarb-e-Azb. The cornerstone for any counter-insurgency operation is the support of the local population. A population that is angered by the treatment meted out to it by the state is ripe for exploitation by the enemy. This is precisely why the provision of basic necessities is fundamental to ensuring the success of the ongoing military operation.

The success of this ongoing military operation will not depend on how many militants are killed or how many training camps are destroyed. The success of Zarb-e-Azb will depend on how Pakistan deals with displaced Pakistanis suffering in the summer heat and the oncoming monsoon season. It will depend on how these people are treated in the camps, towns, and cities of Pakistan that they turn to. Zarb-e-Azb will be a complete failure if we as a nation fail to minimise the suffering of our fellow citizens and not only will it be a failure, it will strengthen the very enemy that this operation seeks to destroy in a decisive battle.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2014.

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