By Bureau report
Talking to The News, Muhammad Gulab, resident of Maidan area in Dir Lower, said he was sole breadwinner for his seven-member family including four daughters, two sons and a wife. He added that the camp authorities gave them only one blanket to protect themselves from the cold weather at night. “World Food Organisation (WFO) and Afghan Commissioner Aid gave us expired food items and flour for consumption,” he deplored.
Muhammad Gulab said militants had destroyed his house and he was unable to repair it, adding that the authorities were forcing him to go back to his damaged house.“Tent is not a proper shelter from the cold and the camp authorities are not doing anything in this regard,” he said, adding that the ACO Fayyaz Ali Shah never visited the camp to know about the problems they were facing.
Sardar Ali, 15, who hails from Buner district, said he waited for three days to get foodstuff but to no avail.To a question, he said, “We lived in a rented house in Buner and shifted to the Jalala camp due to the military operation Rah-e-Rast.”
Safdar Khan from Buner district said despite being registered, they failed to get foodstuff and other daily commodities in the camp.He added the camp authorities were forcing them to go back to their hometown but their house was destroyed during insurgency in the district.
He said, “I belong to Dir district and shifted to Buner 10 years ago and lived in a rented house which was destroyed and migrated to the camp after losing shelter in Buner.” Salim Shah, who is working with the WFO in the camp, said: “As many 130 families are living in the camp. Only 60 families are registered and deserving while others are illegally staying there.” The food items had been provided by the government for the IDPs last time in July and thereafter food wasn’t supplied to the families in the camp.
To a question, the official said they distributed food commodities each month among the IDPs on the directives of the ACTED and WFO officers.When his attention was drawn to the complaint of the IDPs to the expiry of the food items, Salim Shah said, “No one has criticised food items, especially flour, therefore, we did not inform the concerned authorities.”
Meanwhile, ACO Fayyaz Ali Shah said it wasn’t his responsibility as he was no more the in-charge of the camp. He added that now Javed, an official at the office of the Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, was responsible to resolve the problems at the camp. But Javed insisted that Fayyaz Ali Shah was still holding the charge as no notification had been received in this regard yet.