ajpirzada
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2008
- Messages
- 6,011
- Reaction score
- 11
- Country
- Location
LAHORE: The government agencies in Pakistan have been overwhelmed by the displacement of nearly 2 million people from Swat and the surrounding areas, Washington Post has concluded.
Only a fraction of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), it says, are receiving assistance in government-run camps. The rest are fending for themselves or getting help from private charities including some that sympathise with the forces the Pakistan Army is fighting.
IDP camps have been the prime recruiting grounds for Taliban groups ever since the Soviet invasion forced millions of Afghans to cross into Pakistan in the 1980s. Now, concern is growing that the latest displacement will create a fresh crop of Pakistanis loyal to groups that seek to undermine the state.
The government says it is aware of the peril, but it appears incapable of mustering the resources it needs to provide shelter, food, water and medicine to so many people.
Critics say the government has badly mismanaged the crisis. They should have foreseen this, but they didnt plan for it, said Aftab Khan Sherpao, the former interior minister. The people are not happy with the militants, but theyre not happy with the army and the government, either. Now that anger will build up.
In Mardan, IDP camps consist of endless rows of tan canvas tents that bake under 110-degree skies. Schools are packed to capacity with families sleeping on concrete classroom floors, each classroom housing 40 or more people. Locals say that virtually every spare bedroom in the city is being used to host the displaced civilians.
Save the Children estimated late last week that more than 80 percent of the people who had fled were living outside the camps. More than half the IDPs are children.
The government is heavily dependent on international aid for its support programmes. The United Nations said on Friday it was seeking $543 million in additional donations to help those displaced by the fighting. The United States has announced $110 million in aid, including tents, radios and generators.
In the camps, there is seething resentment towards the government, which, the residents say has let them down.
On Sunday, the army said it had captured key parts of Mingora. Much of the city, however, remains in Taliban hands, and up to 20,000 civilians remain trapped between the military and the Taliban.
Outside the camps, groups with radical agendas are rushing to fill the void left by the paucity of government services. The Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the successor to a group known as Jamaatud Dawa, has established a major presence, feeding tens of thousands of displaced people and providing quality medical care. The groups deputy chairman in the region says that if the IDP crisis continues, the group plans to also provide schooling for the children.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Only a fraction of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), it says, are receiving assistance in government-run camps. The rest are fending for themselves or getting help from private charities including some that sympathise with the forces the Pakistan Army is fighting.
IDP camps have been the prime recruiting grounds for Taliban groups ever since the Soviet invasion forced millions of Afghans to cross into Pakistan in the 1980s. Now, concern is growing that the latest displacement will create a fresh crop of Pakistanis loyal to groups that seek to undermine the state.
The government says it is aware of the peril, but it appears incapable of mustering the resources it needs to provide shelter, food, water and medicine to so many people.
Critics say the government has badly mismanaged the crisis. They should have foreseen this, but they didnt plan for it, said Aftab Khan Sherpao, the former interior minister. The people are not happy with the militants, but theyre not happy with the army and the government, either. Now that anger will build up.
In Mardan, IDP camps consist of endless rows of tan canvas tents that bake under 110-degree skies. Schools are packed to capacity with families sleeping on concrete classroom floors, each classroom housing 40 or more people. Locals say that virtually every spare bedroom in the city is being used to host the displaced civilians.
Save the Children estimated late last week that more than 80 percent of the people who had fled were living outside the camps. More than half the IDPs are children.
The government is heavily dependent on international aid for its support programmes. The United Nations said on Friday it was seeking $543 million in additional donations to help those displaced by the fighting. The United States has announced $110 million in aid, including tents, radios and generators.
In the camps, there is seething resentment towards the government, which, the residents say has let them down.
On Sunday, the army said it had captured key parts of Mingora. Much of the city, however, remains in Taliban hands, and up to 20,000 civilians remain trapped between the military and the Taliban.
Outside the camps, groups with radical agendas are rushing to fill the void left by the paucity of government services. The Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, the successor to a group known as Jamaatud Dawa, has established a major presence, feeding tens of thousands of displaced people and providing quality medical care. The groups deputy chairman in the region says that if the IDP crisis continues, the group plans to also provide schooling for the children.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
