Even though every effort has been made by the authorities to initiate the third phase of repatriation of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) to Mehsud tribe dominated areas of South Waziristan, majority of the IDPs are reluctant to move because of the security situation in the region.
Sources have informed Pakistan Today that most of the rough mountainous regions of Mehsud dominated areas of South Waziristan is still under the influence of the militants. Notorious Taliban commander, Wali Ur Rahman, through a recent video message also claimed control over what he called 70 percent of Ladha subdivision of South Waziristan.
The official data reveal that in the first two phases, started on December 4, 2010, only 5,000 families returned to their homes. Majority of these people returned to areas close to Jandola headquarter of Frontier region. The officials of FATA Disaster Management, when contacted, said the registration of the IDP’s willing for repatriation was in progress.
However, schedule for third phase of the repatriation had not been finalised yet. The officer said that only 371 families have been registered so far. According to the official, the strength of IDP’s from South Waziristan is more than 90,000 and 43,000 had been verified through NADRA.
The registration period had been extended a couple of times because of the reluctance shown by the IDPs, the officer said, adding that July 20 would be the starting date of phase III. The official was approached time and again by civilians, asking them to ensure peace before sending them to their areas.
Before initiating the repatriation process in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan , the high ranking civil and military authorities have held several rounds of meetings with elders of Mehsud tribe to convince them to form traditional peace lashkars and peace committees. The elders from Mehsud tribe, however, have out rightly rejected the idea.
When contacted, these elders affirmed their rejection, saying that “we want to be repatriated but the area is still not secure.”
They pointed out that the majority of the IDP’s had suffered heavy losses and could not afford to return to their native regions and the situation was aggravated because of the presence of Taliban.