The registered number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the on-going military operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) has rapidly reached 0.85 million individuals, as Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch Wednesday called for an early national response to provide all possible assistance to the displaced families at this critical juncture.
"We have so far registered up to 0.85 million IDPs coming through Bannu and the number is increasing rapidly ", Baloch told participants of seminar titled "Impact of terrorism on human rights," organised by Fazaldad Human Rights Institute. Terming the ongoing military operation as a complete war, Baloch said "we are in a state of war, the intensity and burden of which is 10 times higher than the 1965 war." He said the government needs Rs 16 billion for the rehabilitation of the IDPs but unfortunately the humanitarian disaster is getting least attention at national level.
"We gave much attention to the floods and the earthquake, but it is very unfortunate that the issue of IDPs has not been given that priority which it requires," he regretted, adding that media should play its crucial role in this regard to intensify nation wide campaign to help the displaced families.
Baloch, who is also focal person for the IDPs, said that 60,000 families had already fled the NWA prior to the launch of Zarb-e-Azb while 476,000 families left the area from June 15 to June 24 before a full scale military offensive was launched. He said that the number of IDPs has reached up to 0.85 million and there are also 0.6 million old IDPs of South Waziristan, Khyber Agency and Kurram Agency, adding that the government has estimated the total number is up to 1.3 million. However, he said that National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) has been asked for the scrutiny to check any duplication.
About the relief assistance, he said that the federal government is providing Rs 40,000 per family along with eight Kg food ration while the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa is providing Rs 3,000 per family along with Rs 5,000 as Ramazan package. Baloch pointed out due to their social background, the IDPs of North Waziristan are showing least interest to live in the camps and despite all the facilities only 3,000 families have so far reached the camps established in Bannu while majority of them want to live in rented houses.
Referring to military operation, he said that the government made sincere efforts to resolve the menace of terrorism through dialogue, but it was not reciprocated with the same zeal by the Taliban. He said that a similar military operation is also needed not only in tribal areas but other parts of the country including Karachi, so as to get rid of the terrorism and extremism.
The Minister also admitted that a lot of injustices have already been done to the people of tribal areas and being the countrymen they are being treated as second-class citizens of the country due to the prevailing Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). To a question, the minister rejected the number of 75,000 IDPs given by UNHCR that have crossed to Afghanistan, saying that there were some 6,000 families who initially crossed into Afghanistan but most of them have already reached the country via Kurram Agency.
Referring to Protection of Pakistan Act, he said that the law was need of the hour as the authorities were unable not only to prosecute the terrorists but it was also hard to arrest them. "Even the sectarian elements killing innocent people in Quetta and rest parts of the country, were unable to be arrested or prosecuted," he said, adding that maximum efforts have been made to invite least international criticism on the basis of human rights violations under the new law.
Leader of the opposition in Senate and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) senior leader Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan said that the country was in a state of complete war and the battle ground is not only North Waziristan but it is also Karachi, Lahore and rest of the country. He also called upon the media to play its crucial role to defeat the counter narratives opposing the ongoing crackdown against the militants. Aitzaz also defended the Protection of Pakistan Act, saying that it was need of the hour to bring such laws and prior to the passage from the parliament, amendments proposed by the political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have been made part of the law. Senior analyst Zahid Hussain also highlighted the key role of media to bring unanimity among the countrymen to root out the menace of terrorism and extremism.
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