Hindus just as displaced but not treated as other families, say reps

Claim those with Punjab addresses on NICs face trouble registering.

PESHAWAR:

Twenty-two Hindu families, have been displaced as a result of the Zarb-e-Azb operation, and they have taken shelter at Balmik Temple in Bannu city. Apart from food rations, the families say they have not been provided aid in any other form, their representatives told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

Some Christians and Hindus displaced from North Waziristan have also had trouble registering as internally displaced persons (IDP) as their ID cards carry addresses of places outside the region.

Old settlers

The existence of Hindus and Christians in Waziristan predates the British Raj and Partition, said Amber Azeem, a Hindu leader who was previously a member of the Bannu district government. “Over 200 Christian and Hindu families are residents of North Waziristan,” he added. “At least 170 Christian and Hindu families are now in Bannu.” The remaining took shelter in other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Azeem said there were 25 Hindu families living in North Waziristan prior to the operation. Around 22 of them are in Bannu where they sought refuge in Balmik Temple. The other three had members employed by the Pakistan Army which provided them protection to remain in North Waziristan.

“Without a doubt, these people have received sufficient food rations but other internally displaced persons in camps have also been provided with other essentials such as fans, water coolers, beds and blankets,” said Azeem. “They are still waiting for those essentials.”

Those with dual addresses on their ID cards have been hit the hardest, he added. “If you have two addresses on your card—it’s a problem,” Azeem told The Express Tribune over the phone. “We met the Bannu commissioner who said the issue will be resolved but there are some Christian families with their permanent and current address of Punjab,” he said. Their problem of registration should have been solved as a priority.

“Uzma is an employee of the district health unit in North Waziristan but her permanent address is of Sargodha.” She was denied registration for rations and remains the only bread winner for her family.

“Uzma and her disabled brother are the fifth generation of the family in Waziristan and she has been denied the status of an IDP,” said the leader. “It’s only because her forefathers migrated to Waziristan from Sargodha during British India times.”

Haroon Sarbdyal, chairman of the All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement, said most Christian and Hindu families were employed by the government. That has not helped them as IDPs even though they possess service cards, said Sarbdyal.

“School teacher Fehmida Akhtar’s salary was deducted at a time (during relocation) when she needed that little bit of extra help from her department,” he said. “And now without the salary slip, Fehmida is unable to find out why it happened.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2014.