| War on Terror | |
| 19 Aug 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Internal refugees and Bajaur conflict | |
| Monday, August 18, 2008
The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has grown steadily in Pakistan over the past few years, mainly as a consequence of conflict in the northern areas and also Balochistan. The latest wave of displacements comes in Bajaur Agency, where 150,000 people are reported to have fled their homes. Some efforts have reportedly been made to establish camps for these persons outside the agency, but many of those fleeing complain such measures are inadequate and that they have received almost no official assistance as they board trucks, vans or jeeps in a bid to reach safety. Some, left with no choice, have simply set out on foot. In the past, similar scenes have been witnessed in Swat, Khyber Agency, South Waziristan and other areas. In all these cases, people have spoken angrily about government actions that have destroyed homes and injured or killed family members. Most victims find themselves caught in an almost impossible situation between the local Taliban and the troops fighting them.
The time has come to work out an official strategy on IDPs. Immediately, they must be given adequate shelter, medical assistance and compensation for the losses they have suffered. In the longer run, these people need to be persuaded of the need to participate in the effort to bring peace and development to their areas. Humanitarian crises of the kind now being witnessed offer an opportunity for the state to interact with people and evolve a relationship with them. At this time, Pakistan must ensure this relationship is one that can help it draw closer to people who currently regard its forces with both distrust and fear. So far they know these forces mainly only as those who have bombed homes, ordered people to leave them or forced farmers to cut down maize crops so militants cannot use them for purposes of ambush. A kinder face of state must too be unveiled before people.
Given the scale of the problem, Pakistan may be well-advised to seek international help. The UN agencies and indeed other organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have many years of expertise in assisting people left homeless by war or other calamity. This extends beyond the primary tasks of putting up tents or providing food, but also to offering counselling for trauma and helping families deal with crisis. This help should be sought immediately. In the past, Pakistan has tried to cover up problems by denying international groups' access to IDPs or others in distress. This serves no purpose at all and in fact goes only to aggravate the suffering of those affected. This time round, the mistakes of the past must not be repeated and all possible effort made to help the tens of thousands displaced from Bajaur, as gunship helicopters continue to rain bombs on their homes and their villages in the quest to flush out militants who have chosen to put ordinary people at risk by hiding themselves within residential communities. View Source article: |
10:09 AM
Sultan Shahin
0 comments:
Post a Comment