Relief efforts: Allow charities to help IDPs, PTI plea to govt

Wants Islamabad to probe complaints of substandard food provided to the displaced people.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the ruling party in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, made a strong pitch on Saturday for allowing national and international non-governmental organisations to take part in relief activities for the displaced population of North Waziristan.

The party’s additional secretary general Saifullah Niazi, federal lawmaker Ayesha Gulalai and K-P Revenue Minister Ali Amin Gandapur addressed the media on Saturday and demanded that the government probe complaints of substandard food provided to the IDPs by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Niazi added that the provincial government requires an additional Rs4 billion from the federal government in order to provide medical facilities to the IDPs.

Niazi criticised the government for a ‘lack of support’ for the provincial government in order to deal with the influx of IDPs and said the government is responsible for the incorrect assessment of the possible number of IDPs expected as Operation Zarb-e-Azb kicked off. Naizi said the government said 0.7 million IDPs were expected, while the number of displaced persons has crossed one million to date.

He added that the provincial government is providing Rs23,000 to each displaced family.

Niazi said that three major hospitals, 34 basic health units and 45 medical camps have been established by the provincial government to cater to the IDPs where more 30,000 patients including male female and children have been treated.

PTI leaders demanded that the government ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity to the IDP camps in Bannu and other cities by restoring more than 100 electricity transformers which are out of commission.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2014.