By Khalid Kheshgi
More than 15,000 displaced families had been registered so far in at the registration points in Tank and DI Khan districts, of whom some 4,500 were registered after October 13, said provincial relief commissioner Shakeel Qadir.
However, the government has yet to establish any formal camp for thousands of displaced families from affected South Waziristan. He said about 11,000 displaced families, mostly from Mahsud’s localities, had been registered in the first phase since May.
Majority of the uprooted families have been coming via Jandola-Tank Road, where the NWFP Social Welfare Department in collaboration with the UNHCR has established two registration points in Tank and three in DI Khan districts.
“Keeping in view the exodus of Mahsud tribesmen via Bannu-Miramshah route, the government will establish registration points in Bannu district,” Shakeel Qadir told The News, adding that some 956 displaced families had reached DI Khan via Bannu-Miramshah Road. As the displaced tribesmen preferred to live with their relatives, friends and also preferred rented houses in Tank and DI Khan, no official camp has been established so far.
“No body is ready to live in the camps at the moment, however, we have identified two places for camps in DI Khan district,” the provincial relief commissioner said and added that some 4,000 cash cards had been distributed to the registered IDPs per family whereas the remaining cash cards would be handed to the deserving people on emergency basis.
When contacted by phone, an official of the UNHCR told this scribe that more than 32,000 internally displaced persons had been registered since October 13 in Tank and DI Khan districts wherein the daily use commodities like kitchen sets, blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans and other utensils had been distributed. He said that some 11,000 families or 80,000 individuals were registered in the first phase.
To a question, the UNHCR official said the fleeing people were facing great hardships in reaching the registration points due to prolonged curfew period, frequent checkposts at various points and lack of transportation. He feared that thousands of innocent tribesmen might have been stranded in their native towns and on roads as a result of fierce clashes between security forces and militants.
According to NWFP Social Welfare department, some 85,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were registered in DI Khan while more than 22,000 IDPs were registered in Tank district. It is estimated that over 170,000 people would be displaced as a result of the military operation, which could bring the total number of IDPs to 250,000.