North Waziristan has been perhaps the most important geographical entity in the context of Pakistan’s terrorism problem in recent years, a dehumanised geographical location, a safe haven for barbarians who brought untold misery to people in the settled districts of the country. For a long time, it had been a no-go area, more so for those who wanted to get more information about it.
In general drawing room discussions, eliminating the roots of terrorism was considered important, even if it meant collective punishment for those who resided there. After all, they had allowed the ‘terrorists’ to flourish within them for years, it was argued (these drawing rooms by the way are equally worried about the ‘terrorists’ who might slip into our safe cities in the garb of IDPs).
The debate in the settled parts was of another nature altogether when the American drones hit the ‘targets’.
But nobody really understood the implications of what a military operation could unleash in terms of mass migration of people. In a way, Pakistan has specialised in IDPs, having seen so many of them in the last decade or so. There have been so many operations, large and small, in Fata and in Swat, that we have lost count of them and the IDPs they brought in their wake.
The IDPs of North Waziristan in the wake of Operation Zarb-e-Azb is a problem that no one appears to have foreseen despite the clear possibility of the operation. Apart from the human tragedy that it clearly is, the state of Pakistan appears ill-prepared in every respect. It is the first time in the country’s history that people in such large numbers have migrated to the war-torn Afghanistan. The fact that only a few families have taken refuge in the camps set up by the government is a further affirmation of their lack of trust.
Soon the system will start feeling the pressure of the 0.5 million people who have been uprooted from their homes. The political tussle between various tiers of government and among institutions will add to the list of the country’s problems. We really don’t know how prepared is the Pakistani state and society to manage the health, education and other needs of the IDPs. This is the subject of today’s Special Report.