Japanese envoy assures of continued support for IDPs, Fata

JALOZAI: Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Inomata Thursday assured continued support to Pakistan in the relief and rehabilitation of the terrorism-affected people and areas, particularly the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
He was on a visit to the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) camp here. He talked to the IDPs and inaugurated the state-of-the-art Human Response Facilitation Centre that has been established by the World Food Programme (WFP) with the financial support of Japan.
Ambassador Hiroshi Inomata also addressed a function and witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and FATA Secretariat about the former’s support for rehabilitation of the IDPs and the reconstruction process in FATA. The agreement was signed by Marc-Andre Franche, country director of UNDP and Shakeel Qadir Khan, secretary administration FATA. He expressed his hope that the funds provided by the people and government of Japan would be fully and effectively utilised.
Hiroshi Inomata assured full support in the return and rehabilitation of the IDPs. He said that they wanted sustainable rehabilitation of the displaced community to their native areas. He was quite hopeful of the implementation of the Pakistan government plan to facilitate the return of all IDPs by December 2016. He said the government would also accelerate the rehabilitation of FATA in order to increase stability in the border region.
Marc-Andre Franche lauded the support by the government of Japan to enable UNDP and other partners to work hand in hand with the affected communities to improve their living conditions during the displacement period and facilitate their dignified return to their homes. “This support represents the first step on a long road of recovery and prosperity in FATA. The emergence of a peaceful and productive society there will require sustainable and long-term commitment from us all,” he stressed.
He said the UNDP has owned a three-fold strategy to support the IDPs and the host families. He said they supported the IDPs through vocational training, social cohesion, and rehabilitation of community infrastructure.
Secretary Administrations FATA, Shakeel Qadir Khan highlighted the significance of Jalozai for hosting thousands of families and millions of people since 1979. “This area has hosted the Afghan refugees for 30 years and it has been hosting the internally displaced people from the tribal areas and restive settled parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he reminded.
Sounding hopeful about the future of the tribal areas, Shakeel Qadir said he was seeing light at the end of the tunnel. “It’s heartening that normalcy is fast returning to the volatile tribal region. It is also encouraging that the number of the displaced people has shrunk from 50,000 families and 300,000 people to 1,000 families and 6,000 people,” he remarked. He said that the law and order situation in the tribal region has improved and development activities are taking place there. He expressed his optimism to overcome the challenges in the affected tribal region with the support of the international donors like UNDP, WFO and others.
Lola Castro, country director WFP and Khalid Khan, director Provincial Disaster Management Authority, also spoke on the occasion. The Japanese ambassador also distributed certificates among the 20 tribal youth who completed their skills training under a UNDP project.