ISLAMABAD: At least 70 people have died in South Waziristan Agency (SWA) due to the rising incidents of blasts caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) — which has posed a new challenge for the region.
Pakistan has been battling an insurgency since 2004, following the United States-led invasion of the neighbouring Afghanistan in 2001 and the subsequent increase in militancy across the border.
However, in the wake of recent military operations, the security situation has considerably improved in the troubled area. Subsequently, thousands of displaced tribal people, living their lives as internally displaced persons (IDPs) in various parts of the country for almost a decade, were asked to return to their homeland.
Though the area has been cleansed of militants to a great extent, ironically no attention has been paid to the IEDs, planted widely in the war-ravaged area. IED technology has become infinitely deadlier and more sophisticated over the past two decades as well.
Owing to the rising incidents of IED blasts, several people have lost their lives and dozens of others have sustained injuries, mainly in Mehsud inhabited areas.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Manzoor Mehsud, a social activist and campaigner against IEDs, said that the rising incidents of IED blasts have made life difficult for people in the troubled area, as the number of victims has mounted to 70 in a short span of time.
He said that no place is safe from IEDs, as they could be planted anywhere in the area, including damaged houses, playgrounds, lush green fields and even the hilly areas. He added that despite their repeated pleas to political administration and security officials to address this matter in a timely manner, no action has been taken so far.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Gohar Mehsud, a tribal journalist based in Islamabad, said, “I believe the decision to send back IDPs was not taken in public interest, but to extract international funds over the excuse of their rehabilitation.”
Gohar further said that the authorities completely deny the presence of IEDs in the region which is making matters more difficult.
The situation in North Waziristan is quite similar, as an IED bomb went off in a damaged house in the area a couple of days back, killing at least one while injuring five.
Despite repeated claims by the authorities that the area has been cleansed of IEDs, the people of North Waziristan are now facing a similar situation.
When contacted, National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Chairman Maulana Jamal-ud-Din said that the government, army chief and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor had announced that the IDPs have been repatriated, which was widely welcomed but unfortunately the area had not been cleared of mines.
He said that it is a very serious issue, as over 60 people have lost their lives so far, and that the officials have confirmed the presence of 8,000 mines only in the Thangari Nazar Khel area.
He said that despite his raising this issue at all forums, including parliament, with corps commander, PM’s adviser and KP governor, the government has yet not done anything in this regard.
Jamal-ud-Din went on to say that the government’s failure to defuse these IED blasts would be viewed as either the authority had no resource to defuse them or feared of Taliban’s return to the area.
Disabilities resulting from explosive weapon injuries have a long-term impact, often forcing children to drop out of school, causing social exclusion and reducing their ability to earn a living when they are older, along with causing long-term psychological distress in children.
Besides, children with disabilities are more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and destitution.