IDP protests

We should be attempting to understand why we are unable to manage even relatively simple things. Given that our experience with displacements due to conflict now extends to well over a decade, it should not be especially hard to ensure that people forced to leave houses are taken care of and their basic needs catered for. Sadly this has not been the case, and last week thousands of protesters from the Bara tehsil in the Khyber Agency gathered outside the Governor’s House in Peshawar, blocking Sher Shah Suri Road for hours, to draw attention to their grievances. These grievances are not complicated. The IDPs, most of them displaced when an operation began in Khyber in November last year – with jet fighters bombing the area – seek repatriation as quickly as possible, compensation for the losses they have suffered, help with the rebuilding of destroyed houses and better housing arrangements in the meantime.
The IDPs complain of inadequate housing at the Jalozai camp, where some among the 170,000 displaced took shelter last year. The majority moved to rented premises or with relatives. Today, notably for those housed in tents, winter has imposed additional hardships, especially since the majority of those who had been forced to move out were children. Some families have since moved back; others have been unable to do so. A delegation met by officials from the Governor’s House was promised repatriation would begin by the third week of February, houses re-built and Rs850 million set aside as compensation. With these promises, the protest was ended allowing Peshawar commuters use of the road again. But the problems of the IDPs continue. They continue to live in misery and many have lost out on education or been deprived of livelihoods. The same is true of those displaced from other areas, including North Waziristan. It is unfortunate that ordinary citizens must suffer the brunt of the conflict being fought in our northern zone. It is still more unfortunate that we have failed time and again to offer them the assistance and support they need. Displacement imposes huge strains on families. This is what the Bara IDPs tried to highlight. Their protest appears to have had an impact, with the Fata Disaster Management Authority stating it is in the process of finalising return arrangements. An agreement has also been reached with two mobile phone companies to pay the IDPs Rs25,000 per family as compensation. Some 80,000 families will hopefully be returning home. We also hope the promises made will be kept and further suffering minimised.