Attack on IDPs
Blast in Hangu’s Khwaja Muhammad IDP camp is a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by these homeless tribesmen
There seems to be no end to the plight of the IDPs from Fata. Despite their enforced migration from the tribal belt for their own betterment, their problems have multiplied. The bomb that killed eight people, including three minors, on September 28 in Hangu’s Khwaja Muhammad IDP camp is a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by these homeless tribesmen.
It’s been four years since the people from Orkazai have been living in camps in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These IDPs have been protesting against the government for their repatriation for more than a year now. While the military has claimed to have cleared the Orakzai Agency of militants a long time ago, they have been told that their return is not possible to the agency because of the volatile law and order in their native areas. The inevitable question than is — how secure have they been in the camps?
The answer to which is not difficult to find from the chain of events in the last few months. The very threat because of which these people escaped has followed them. This might be the first major attack that has resulted in deaths but definitely not the first time that the IDPs of Orakzai have been targeted. A similar attack was reported back in June, when rockets were fired at the same camp, militants had threatened them to vacate or face the consequences. Several families, who could afford, had to further migrate to Kohat and Peshawar. Those who could not, now live in a state of perpetual fear and ask: what is our fault?
The numbers keep increasing, Pakistan now has more than two million IDPs from the conflict in Fata alone. A strong feeling of deprivation has already engulfed the people of Fata, particularly those that have been displaced. The Uthmanzai Wazir, the largest tribe from North Waziristan, has called for a grand Jirga to march towards Islamabad on October 10. Similar protests have been held by the homeless from the Khyber Agency. The bomb attack in Hangu will further exacerbate the feeling of victimisation. But does the government have any plan to relocate these people back to their homes? Or, is this another failure which will come back to haunt us in the near future?
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2014.
It’s been four years since the people from Orkazai have been living in camps in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These IDPs have been protesting against the government for their repatriation for more than a year now. While the military has claimed to have cleared the Orakzai Agency of militants a long time ago, they have been told that their return is not possible to the agency because of the volatile law and order in their native areas. The inevitable question than is — how secure have they been in the camps?
The answer to which is not difficult to find from the chain of events in the last few months. The very threat because of which these people escaped has followed them. This might be the first major attack that has resulted in deaths but definitely not the first time that the IDPs of Orakzai have been targeted. A similar attack was reported back in June, when rockets were fired at the same camp, militants had threatened them to vacate or face the consequences. Several families, who could afford, had to further migrate to Kohat and Peshawar. Those who could not, now live in a state of perpetual fear and ask: what is our fault?
The numbers keep increasing, Pakistan now has more than two million IDPs from the conflict in Fata alone. A strong feeling of deprivation has already engulfed the people of Fata, particularly those that have been displaced. The Uthmanzai Wazir, the largest tribe from North Waziristan, has called for a grand Jirga to march towards Islamabad on October 10. Similar protests have been held by the homeless from the Khyber Agency. The bomb attack in Hangu will further exacerbate the feeling of victimisation. But does the government have any plan to relocate these people back to their homes? Or, is this another failure which will come back to haunt us in the near future?
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2014.