This time, Mohmand Agency in the Tribal Region has become the focal point in the army operation for the war on terror. According to the UN, about 22000 people have fled the area as the operation has intensified. One point has to be realised by everyone that the refugee crisis was not directly caused by the operation but by the activities of the terrorists themselves who made the place unsafe. It was the terrorists who had stepped up their targeting of schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure in that area and the local people were the main targets of this suffering. The state had to take action, as it is responsible for the safety of every Pakistani citizen and it did.
It is unfair to blame the state operation being conducted as the sole reason for the escalating refugee crisis which was already in the making due to the activities of the terrorists. But we hope that the government can aid these refugees in the meantime and help rehabilitate them in their homes once the area has been rid of terrorists.
HASSAN BASHIR
Islamabad
