Far more than expected
Despite seemingly best efforts of the federal and provincial (KPK) administrations, the IDP problem is at a point where it can snowball into a much bigger disaster failing certain immediate steps. PTI chairman Imran Khan was spot on, after his latest visit to camps in Bannu, that the number of actual refugees was far more than the estimated figure. There are indications, according to latest reports, that expectations of five to seven hundred thousand people leaving NWA were indeed quite conservative, and the actual number might even cross nine hundred thousand. Not only does that explain the magnitude of the refugee problem, it also tells how bad things had become in North Waziristan, and what sort of comprehensive sweep must be underway to ‘cleanse’ the area of terrorists once and for all.
In matters of conflict resolution as well as rehabilitation and accommodation, especially when such a large number of refugees is concerned, sometimes it is not what is done or left undone that compounds the problem, but rather the manner of doing things. Take the management of the refugees’ registration in places like Bannu and Peshawar. Considering that these people have come from far colder regions and it is the peak of unbearable summer in areas where these people are now accommodated, that too in Ramazan, it is unfair to make people wait for hours in long queues because registration process begins two hours or so later than announced.
There are similar problems concerning delivery of relief goods. The processes are in place, much of the hard work has been done, it is just the coordination where things seem lacking. Then there are conditions within the camps. Official claims of uninterrupted electricity and water, too, seem somewhat exaggerated. Such needless hindrances cause frustration among people who have already left their homes and lives behind for the greater national good, and there have been instances of limited violence. A few children have also died. Such tragedies can be kept from multiplying, but there is a very small window in which to establish discipline and procedure, otherwise it will be near impossible to get a handle on the problem.
