The internally-displaced persons (IDP) from North Waziristan have asked the government to establish registration and food distribution points for them in the twin cities as well.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club on Monday, representatives of the displaced families from North Waziristan also demanded a comprehensive plan of rehabilitation for the IDPs once the military operation is over. North Waziristan IDPs Association coordinator Asadullah Khan said over 300 displaced families have arrived in Taxila and Fateh Jang. But they have not been registered yet, he added.
“Authorities should register the displaced families as early as possible so that they can get ration and computerised national identity cards,” Khan said. He claimed currently these IDPs are either living with their relatives or have rented houses. “Moreover, a special unit should be established at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to provide identity cards to IDPs.”
He said the government should ensure that private property is not damaged during the ongoing offensive.
Khan said the government should make special arrangements for schooling of the displaced children. “The government should also declare education emergency in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) to improve quality of education there. This will bring to an end to the inferiority complex among the FATA youngsters,” he said.
The IDPs’ representatives also demanded quota for students from tribal areas in public-sector educational institutions of the country.
Another member of the association, Haji Gul Rauf, said that the military operation was launched unannounced and one million people were asked to leave their homes within three days.
“We did not have time to pack necessary and valuable items. We left our homes in the clothes we were wearing.” He said many, including women and children, had to walk out of North Waziristan.
Rauf said that Bannu is a small district and cannot house one million IDPs, due to which many families have moved to other cities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. He said overcrowding in IDP camps is another issue, as 10-15 people are living in one camp in a very inhuman condition. Living with other families also creates problems for many women who strictly adhere to tribal tradition of pardah (veil).
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2014.
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