Repatriation crisis

One of the biggest crisis facing the country is the return of those displaced by the military operation in the north. Hundreds of thousands of people belonging to the tribes inhabiting North and South Waziristan and other regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) remain displaced from their homes. There is rising anger and resentment due to what is seen as neglect of the welfare of those who have sacrificed their homes – and lives – for these operations. In early March, a jirga from the Orakzai area announced that they would start protests around the country if they were not resettled by the end of the month. Similarly, a jirga of the Burki tribe, which has been displaced since 2009, refused to register for repatriation until the government creates the right conditions for return. With their houses destroyed and no livelihood opportunities left, the sacrifices they have made to allow the military to launch its clean-up efforts has left most IDPs almost destitute. What compounds the tragedy is the fact that the government has not taken this situation as an opportunity to make the lives of the people displaced better and grant them the rights they have been denied for over a century.

With the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) still in place, the return home for Pakistan’s IDPs is a perilous one. Reports that the country’s civil and military leadership has agreed on an early return for Pakistan’s IDPs sound good to the ears but the real disillusionment regarding the government’s initiatives could be witnessed in Landikotal as members of the Fata Reforms Committee were met with protests from political and civil society activists in the region. Their demand is simple: abolish the draconian FCR. How can the government be serious about repatriation without feeling the need to abolish legislation that gives the people of Fata less rights than those residing in other areas? The Fata Reforms Committee seems likely to propose reforms to the FCR, instead of scrapping it altogether. The government must demonstrate its seriousness towards ensuring the welfare of the people of Fata. They have suffered for decades due to the shadow cast by terrorism. The end of April may be too early to complete the repatriation of IDPs. The bigger tragedy, however, is that the civilian and military leadership is only willing to talk about the repatriation of the hundreds of thousands displaced, but is unwilling to follow it up with rebuilding the lives of the displaced and granting them full rights of citizenship.