Pakistan: Displacement ongoing in a

number of regions
• At a glance
• IDP News Alert

14 May 2009: At least 360,000 displaced by north-west

fighting, remaining civilians without services
• Country
Statistics
Heavy fighting in several districts of north-west Pakistan,
• Latest IDP
between government forces and Taleban militants, has caused
figure:
hundreds of thousands of people to become internally displaced in
• At least
less than two weeks. At least 360,000 people have fled Swat, Dir
480,000
and Buner districts in May, bringing the total number of people
• Number of
displaced by hostilities in Pakistan since August 2008 to over
refugees:
900,000.
• (Originating
from the
Civilians who have been unable to leave the conflict area have
country)
been cut off from basic services. In Swat, where the February
31,857
peace deal between the government and the Taleban looks
(UNHCR, June
increasingly fragile, the government issued an evacuation order
2008)
on 5 May ahead of an offensive in the Taleban-dominated region,
• Total
but not everyone has been willing or able to leave Swat.
Population:
Many civilians remain in the district in extremely difficult
• 167,76 million
circumstances. In Mingora, the largest city in Swat, the district’s
main hospital has been abandoned, and water and electricity have
been cut off for days. Many people have reportedly fled into
Upper Swat to stay with relatives in rural areas, only to find that
heavy fighting is taking place there as well.
• Country Statistics
• Latest IDP figure:
At least 480,000
• Number of refugees:
• (Originating from the country)
31,857 (UNHCR, June 2008)
• Total Population:
167,76 million
Editorial, The News International, Pakistan

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The NWFP government says there are now at least 700,000 IDPs in the country. Many have yet to be

registered. While concern is growing over their plight, and agencies including the UNHCR and the ICRC

have made appeals for immediate help, there are many issues that need to be considered. One of these is

that the vast majority of IDPs are opting to move in with relatives or rent out accommodation, even when

the rates are exorbitant given that many of those forced out of homes are no longer working and have

only limited savings. This means the strategy of setting up camp villages which have already appeared in

Mardan, Swabi and other places across NWFP is somewhat less effective than it may have been in other

circumstances. There are cultural reasons linked to the behaviour of the IDPs. Even though some concede

they would have better access to food and other forms of relief at camps, they argue that their women

observe 'pardah' and cannot be put up in tents living next door to strangers. The issue of blood rivalry has

also been brought up, and the displaced people say they fear that in a camp they may be vulnerable to

enemies who may seek to extract revenge.

These factors may seem irrelevant given the scale of suffering we see and the need for basic items such

as food and water. But the fact is that they matter deeply to those affected. For some at least the simpler

issue of human dignity also plays a part. Living independently is for them preferable to living on what they

perceive is charity. Our government needs to step in, help attune international relief teams to these

realities and find means to work around them. At the moment we have a situation where up to 20 or 30

people are living in single-room apartments. Some means of offering them assistance, perhaps in the form

of jobs, or compensation for what they have suffered must be found.

Some thought must also be given to those who have opted to stay on in their homes or have had no

choice but to do so. Severe food shortages are being reported in Mingora, medicines are unavailable and

almost all doctors have left the city. Some plan must also be put in place to help the people caught up in

the midst of fighting. Many of them are the most impoverished residents of war-hit towns and villages,

who lack the resources to flee. These people, like the IDPs, must not be punished for their helplessness.

In the months ahead we may find that the people of the northern areas hold the key to their future. All

that is possible must therefore be done to show them they have not been abandoned and that all that is

possible is being done to ensure their suffering is as limited as possible. A failure to do so would benefit

the Taliban.