By Khalid Kheshgi
Sources told The News that all the relief activities were being carried out through the offices of Dera Ismail Khan commissioner and NWFP relief commissioner for over 25,000 internally displaced families from South Waziristan, now settled in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts.
The NWFP Social Welfare Department in collaboration with Nadra set up five registration points in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan prior to the military offensive was launched against militants on October 17 in the Mahsud-inhabited territory of South Waziristan. Any official camp for the homeless tribesmen has, however, not been established so far in these districts where more than 11,000 Mahsud families had already reached from the troubled tribal region since May 2009.
According to the fresh data provided by the provincial relief commissioner office in Peshawar, a total of 25,088 displaced families had been registered in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan whereas 6,222 cash cards of Rs5,000 each had been distributed amongst the registered displaced families.
Some 370 metric tonnes of food has also been provided to the affected families in the two districts located near South Waziristan.When contacted by phone, Member of the Mahsud Qaumi Committee for Relief Activities Shaukat Mahsud, however, said that majority of the affected tribesmen were not obtaining ration cards and other relief items because of their non-registration for the lack of national identity cards.
“Majority of the affected tribesmen were either not holding computerised identity cards or did not pick their ID cards while fleeing for safe places in the wake of fierce clashes between security forces and militants,” he said, adding that the government should relax rules for the registration of dislocated tribesmen and distribution of relief items to them.
Another elder from Mahsud tribe, Al-Haaj Loey Khan Mahsud said that fleeing families had to pay huge fares to private vehicles while passing through rough and tough ways to reach Tank and Dera Ismail Khan where they waited for hours to get themselves registered at the designated points.
He said the displaced families were living with their relatives or in rented houses but still they needed tents, kitchen sets and other essential items for their temporary usage. The government had promised the provision of 17,000 tents but to date no tent has been provided to the IDPs, he added.The tribesman also criticised the local police and staff of the distribution centres for their inhuman and indifferent attitude towards the displaced people.
The provincial relief commissioner told this scribe that some 8,000 tents along with kitchen kits had been provided to the Dera Ismail Khan commissioner for the displaced families. He said the Mahsud tribesmen were reluctant to live in camps but these tents could be used inside the sprawling mud-houses. He said the political administration of North Waziristan Agency was allowed to arrange transportation facilities at Razmak, which would be reimbursed later on. Arrangements for about 2,000 displaced families reached via Shakai-Tiarza route would also be made at Wana, he said.
When asked about the relief activities carried out by the Fata Secretariat for affected people of South Waziristan, an official of the media cell said that special package was on the cards for the displaced people from South Waziristan which, he hoped, would be announced within few days.
The early rehabilitation of displaced tribesmen from Bajaur and Mohmand agencies, who are living in camps in Peshawar and Nowshera, could not be ensured because of the lack of proper planning of the Fata Secretariat and local political administration.