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Pakistanis begin to rebuild lives
By Mark Magnier
June 29, 2009
Reporting from Sultanwas, Pakistan -- Nearly two months after Taliban militants expanded from their stronghold in the Swat Valley into neighboring Buner district, touching off an army offensive to remove them, there are early signs here that life is slowly returning to normal.
Bazaars have reopened in the two biggest towns, Daggar and Ambela. Power is back up in several larger communities. Men are mixing cement and rebuilding damaged walls. And families are either trickling back or sending older sons ahead to safeguard valuables and harvest overripe crops.
The Pakistani army and paramilitary Frontier Corps sought last week to accelerate the recovery process for the district, just 60 miles from the nation's capital, Islamabad, with a series of food aid campaigns. Their aim is to add to the improved public image they've enjoyed since initiating their offensive against the Taliban in late April. The fighting caused more than 2 million people to flee the region.
The army's recovery effort has helped counter long-standing criticism that campaigns against Islamic militants have been perfunctory at best.
Still, the real test in the fight against extremists will come months from now, analysts said, after the army moves on. If the Taliban comes creeping back, as some locals expect, then little will have been achieved.
In Buner's hardest-hit town, Sultanwas, the Taliban fighters were routed, but evidence of their handiwork remains. A burned-out army tank, its once-green turret now brown and flaking from the heat of the flames, sits immobilized on the main road outside town, the victim of a Taliban-planted improvised bomb.
A few miles north, a sizable hillside neighborhood that had been used by the Taliban as a temporary base has been reduced to rubble, the result of a days-long battle involving artillery and army helicopter gunships. "The Taliban will be back as soon as the army leaves," predicted Mohammed Anwar, a 19-year-old newspaper seller, standing beside a 15-foot-deep crater left by a bomb dropped from an army helicopter. "They headed up into the mountains there, and they'll probably come back."
Shah Anwar, a member of the Frontier Corps' elite special operations group, pointed to a field on the other side of the road where he was deployed during the battle.
"We had to call in the airstrike," he said. "At some point the Taliban just became too strong."
He and paramilitary captain Adil Pervez estimated that 70 militants, many equipped with rockets, missiles and machine guns, were killed in the battle, compared with 10 of their paramilitary colleagues.
Nearby, several residents pawed through shifting mounds of bricks and furniture pieces, trying to salvage lumber. Residents said that once power was fully restored, they would have their families return from displacement camps in Mardan. Up to 60% of Sultanwas' 15,000 residents are still in the camps.
"My house was destroyed by a missile and even the mosque was hit," said Sultan Mehmood, a retired office worker who was wobbling through rubble with a cane. "Because all the wreckage is jumbled together, we don't know who belongs to whom, so there could be big fights ahead. And government aid still hasn't arrived."
But newspaper seller Anwar, whose family of 10 was forced to squeeze into two relatively intact rooms after their house was hit in early May, said he measured conditions by his sales, which were now around 120 a day. That's well short of the 300 he usually sold, he said, but it's much better than the two or three purchased during the conflict.
The government, increasingly aware that military victory is only part of a successful battle against insurgents, has pledged to help rebuild houses damaged by the fighting, although no formal plan has been announced. As part of its hearts-and-minds campaign, it's also ordered paramilitary forces to assist civilian authorities in getting government agencies up and running soon.
The government has also been distributing food, which its recipients welcome, given that a 44-pound bag of flour costs $15 in the Buner markets, more than double the usual price. The food aid "is a blessing," said Toti Gul, 30, a laborer from Daggar, as he headed off with a large bag of flour and 5 gallons of cooking oil from the government.
But some of the food distributed recently in Daggar and Ambela by paramilitary and army forces appeared to flow only when TV cameras were present.
"There are 18 of us in my family, and I'm almost sure there won't be anything more when I reach the front," said Safodar Ali, 20, a student. "And I've already waited five hours in line."
Army and paramilitary officials countered that those displaced were not starving. The communities have a strong tradition of self-sufficiency, the officials added, and the distribution was meant to supplement, not replace, the residents' efforts to get back on their feet.
Paramilitary commanders said they felt relatively confident that the government could keep the Taliban out of Buner even after the army leaves, without the need of additional men or equipment.
Working against the Taliban, they said, was a decision they made almost immediately after the Islamic militants entered Buner and destroyed Sufi shrines. The fundamentalist Taliban frown on Sufis' emphasis on mysticism and decry reverence of the shrines of Sufi saints as a form of idolatry.
This alienated large numbers of residents, said Asad Nawaz, a paramilitary battalion commander in Buner.
"The Taliban are not welcome here," Nawaz said.
Pakistanis begin to rebuild lives - Los Angeles Times
By Mark Magnier
June 29, 2009
Reporting from Sultanwas, Pakistan -- Nearly two months after Taliban militants expanded from their stronghold in the Swat Valley into neighboring Buner district, touching off an army offensive to remove them, there are early signs here that life is slowly returning to normal.
Bazaars have reopened in the two biggest towns, Daggar and Ambela. Power is back up in several larger communities. Men are mixing cement and rebuilding damaged walls. And families are either trickling back or sending older sons ahead to safeguard valuables and harvest overripe crops.
The Pakistani army and paramilitary Frontier Corps sought last week to accelerate the recovery process for the district, just 60 miles from the nation's capital, Islamabad, with a series of food aid campaigns. Their aim is to add to the improved public image they've enjoyed since initiating their offensive against the Taliban in late April. The fighting caused more than 2 million people to flee the region.
The army's recovery effort has helped counter long-standing criticism that campaigns against Islamic militants have been perfunctory at best.
Still, the real test in the fight against extremists will come months from now, analysts said, after the army moves on. If the Taliban comes creeping back, as some locals expect, then little will have been achieved.
In Buner's hardest-hit town, Sultanwas, the Taliban fighters were routed, but evidence of their handiwork remains. A burned-out army tank, its once-green turret now brown and flaking from the heat of the flames, sits immobilized on the main road outside town, the victim of a Taliban-planted improvised bomb.
A few miles north, a sizable hillside neighborhood that had been used by the Taliban as a temporary base has been reduced to rubble, the result of a days-long battle involving artillery and army helicopter gunships. "The Taliban will be back as soon as the army leaves," predicted Mohammed Anwar, a 19-year-old newspaper seller, standing beside a 15-foot-deep crater left by a bomb dropped from an army helicopter. "They headed up into the mountains there, and they'll probably come back."
Shah Anwar, a member of the Frontier Corps' elite special operations group, pointed to a field on the other side of the road where he was deployed during the battle.
"We had to call in the airstrike," he said. "At some point the Taliban just became too strong."
He and paramilitary captain Adil Pervez estimated that 70 militants, many equipped with rockets, missiles and machine guns, were killed in the battle, compared with 10 of their paramilitary colleagues.
Nearby, several residents pawed through shifting mounds of bricks and furniture pieces, trying to salvage lumber. Residents said that once power was fully restored, they would have their families return from displacement camps in Mardan. Up to 60% of Sultanwas' 15,000 residents are still in the camps.
"My house was destroyed by a missile and even the mosque was hit," said Sultan Mehmood, a retired office worker who was wobbling through rubble with a cane. "Because all the wreckage is jumbled together, we don't know who belongs to whom, so there could be big fights ahead. And government aid still hasn't arrived."
But newspaper seller Anwar, whose family of 10 was forced to squeeze into two relatively intact rooms after their house was hit in early May, said he measured conditions by his sales, which were now around 120 a day. That's well short of the 300 he usually sold, he said, but it's much better than the two or three purchased during the conflict.
The government, increasingly aware that military victory is only part of a successful battle against insurgents, has pledged to help rebuild houses damaged by the fighting, although no formal plan has been announced. As part of its hearts-and-minds campaign, it's also ordered paramilitary forces to assist civilian authorities in getting government agencies up and running soon.
The government has also been distributing food, which its recipients welcome, given that a 44-pound bag of flour costs $15 in the Buner markets, more than double the usual price. The food aid "is a blessing," said Toti Gul, 30, a laborer from Daggar, as he headed off with a large bag of flour and 5 gallons of cooking oil from the government.
But some of the food distributed recently in Daggar and Ambela by paramilitary and army forces appeared to flow only when TV cameras were present.
"There are 18 of us in my family, and I'm almost sure there won't be anything more when I reach the front," said Safodar Ali, 20, a student. "And I've already waited five hours in line."
Army and paramilitary officials countered that those displaced were not starving. The communities have a strong tradition of self-sufficiency, the officials added, and the distribution was meant to supplement, not replace, the residents' efforts to get back on their feet.
Paramilitary commanders said they felt relatively confident that the government could keep the Taliban out of Buner even after the army leaves, without the need of additional men or equipment.
Working against the Taliban, they said, was a decision they made almost immediately after the Islamic militants entered Buner and destroyed Sufi shrines. The fundamentalist Taliban frown on Sufis' emphasis on mysticism and decry reverence of the shrines of Sufi saints as a form of idolatry.
This alienated large numbers of residents, said Asad Nawaz, a paramilitary battalion commander in Buner.
"The Taliban are not welcome here," Nawaz said.
Pakistanis begin to rebuild lives - Los Angeles Times
ajpirzada
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UN praises Pakistanis’ for their ‘generosity’ towards displaced
UNITED NATIONS, July 3 (APP): United Nations agencies have lauded the people of Pakistan for their “extraordinary generosity” in providing food, shelter and other resources to the displaced fellow countrymen. “The everyday people of Pakistan are the real heroes of this current crisis in Pakistan,” Martin Mogwanja, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, told a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, according to a transcript released at UN Headquarters in New York.
“They set an inspiring example of extraordinary generosity for the whole world.” He said he hoped this example is followed by the governments of the world, whose continued urgent support is desperately needed to help those uprooted from their homes by the anti-Taliban militarry operations in Pakistan’s north-west. Most of the displaced are living with host communities, and the health-care, sanitation and water systems in the affected areas are under enormous strain, it was pointed out.
“There are major challenges facing the displaced and those people still caught in the conflict area, for example in the Swat Valley and other conflict zones, where health facilities have been damaged or destroyed,” said Eric Laroche, Assistant Director General of the Health Action in Crises Cluster of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He cited diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, measles, surgical emergencies and mental trauma as some of the most severe threats to people’s health, and highlighted the need for more medicines, equipment and staff, particularly female workers. Despite these challenges, Dr. Laroche pointed out that over 30 potential communicable disease outbreaks have been investigated by the disease early warning system led by WHO. All of them have been quickly controlled by aid agencies working in the health sector.
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced concern about the situation of women and children caught up in the crisis, especially those who have remained behind in areas of conflict. UNICEF’s Louis · Georges Arsenault told reporters that while the full extent of their situation is not yet understood, it is believed they have been living under intolerable circumstances without proper access to clean, potable water, medical services and food.
According to the agency, more than 60 per cent of those displaced are children under the age of 18, who are in critical need of, among others, health and educational services, nutritional support, water and sanitation.
Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - UN praises Pakistanis for their generosity towards displaced
UNITED NATIONS, July 3 (APP): United Nations agencies have lauded the people of Pakistan for their “extraordinary generosity” in providing food, shelter and other resources to the displaced fellow countrymen. “The everyday people of Pakistan are the real heroes of this current crisis in Pakistan,” Martin Mogwanja, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, told a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday, according to a transcript released at UN Headquarters in New York.
“They set an inspiring example of extraordinary generosity for the whole world.” He said he hoped this example is followed by the governments of the world, whose continued urgent support is desperately needed to help those uprooted from their homes by the anti-Taliban militarry operations in Pakistan’s north-west. Most of the displaced are living with host communities, and the health-care, sanitation and water systems in the affected areas are under enormous strain, it was pointed out.
“There are major challenges facing the displaced and those people still caught in the conflict area, for example in the Swat Valley and other conflict zones, where health facilities have been damaged or destroyed,” said Eric Laroche, Assistant Director General of the Health Action in Crises Cluster of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He cited diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, measles, surgical emergencies and mental trauma as some of the most severe threats to people’s health, and highlighted the need for more medicines, equipment and staff, particularly female workers. Despite these challenges, Dr. Laroche pointed out that over 30 potential communicable disease outbreaks have been investigated by the disease early warning system led by WHO. All of them have been quickly controlled by aid agencies working in the health sector.
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced concern about the situation of women and children caught up in the crisis, especially those who have remained behind in areas of conflict. UNICEF’s Louis · Georges Arsenault told reporters that while the full extent of their situation is not yet understood, it is believed they have been living under intolerable circumstances without proper access to clean, potable water, medical services and food.
According to the agency, more than 60 per cent of those displaced are children under the age of 18, who are in critical need of, among others, health and educational services, nutritional support, water and sanitation.
Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - UN praises Pakistanis for their generosity towards displaced
ajpirzada
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Muslim Aid sets up education, skills development centres for IDPs
ISLAMABAD, Jul 3 (APP): Muslim Aid a UK-based organization has set up children education and skills development centres for the welfare of displaced children and women. The centres have been established with an objective to engage the displaced children and women in positive activities at Jalozai camp, Shaikh Yasin camp, Jalala camp, Kachagari Camp, Benazir camp and Aman camp at Mardan and Swabi, Muslim Aid Programme Manager Education, Asad Farooq Mehdi told APP on Friday.
Muslim Aid has established 10 centres for both the children and women. These centres will impart vocational training to the women, educate the children and provide information and entertainment for the youth living in the camps, said Asad Mehdi.
Muslim Aid was endeavoring to set up such centres at various IDPs camps with a prime objective of providing education and vocational training to the IDPs in camps.
Besides welfare programmes of women and children, the relief activities for the IDPs remained a top priority for Muslim Aid.
It is providing them food packages, fans, tents and medical facilities, he added.
Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Muslim Aid sets up education, skills development centres for IDPs
ISLAMABAD, Jul 3 (APP): Muslim Aid a UK-based organization has set up children education and skills development centres for the welfare of displaced children and women. The centres have been established with an objective to engage the displaced children and women in positive activities at Jalozai camp, Shaikh Yasin camp, Jalala camp, Kachagari Camp, Benazir camp and Aman camp at Mardan and Swabi, Muslim Aid Programme Manager Education, Asad Farooq Mehdi told APP on Friday.
Muslim Aid has established 10 centres for both the children and women. These centres will impart vocational training to the women, educate the children and provide information and entertainment for the youth living in the camps, said Asad Mehdi.
Muslim Aid was endeavoring to set up such centres at various IDPs camps with a prime objective of providing education and vocational training to the IDPs in camps.
Besides welfare programmes of women and children, the relief activities for the IDPs remained a top priority for Muslim Aid.
It is providing them food packages, fans, tents and medical facilities, he added.
Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan's Premier NEWS Agency ) - Muslim Aid sets up education, skills development centres for IDPs
ajpirzada
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Owais lauds UN help for IDPs
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Our correspondent
PESHAWAR: NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani Wednesday appreciated United Nations (UN) services for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and said that every possible effort was underway to meet the educational needs of the dislocated children.
He was talking to visiting UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sir John Holmes, at the Governor’s House here. Sir John Holmes, who is also the Emergency Relief Commissioner of UN, remained with the governor for some time and exchanged views on the prevailing state of humanitarian services being extended to the internally dislocated persons from Malakand division as well as different parts of Fata.
The governor welcomed the humanitarian services being extended by various bodies of the UN in sharing the responsibility of looking after the internally dislocated persons. “We really appreciate the contribution, they are making in this respect,” he said.
About the damage caused to infrastructural facilities, especially in Malakand division, he said every effort was underway for its rehabilitation. The dislocation of people, he added, was temporary and they would go back to their hometowns after the restoration of normalcy. Humanitarian Coordinator of UN in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja and others accompanied Sir John Holmes.
Owais lauds UN help for IDPs
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Our correspondent
PESHAWAR: NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani Wednesday appreciated United Nations (UN) services for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and said that every possible effort was underway to meet the educational needs of the dislocated children.
He was talking to visiting UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Sir John Holmes, at the Governor’s House here. Sir John Holmes, who is also the Emergency Relief Commissioner of UN, remained with the governor for some time and exchanged views on the prevailing state of humanitarian services being extended to the internally dislocated persons from Malakand division as well as different parts of Fata.
The governor welcomed the humanitarian services being extended by various bodies of the UN in sharing the responsibility of looking after the internally dislocated persons. “We really appreciate the contribution, they are making in this respect,” he said.
About the damage caused to infrastructural facilities, especially in Malakand division, he said every effort was underway for its rehabilitation. The dislocation of people, he added, was temporary and they would go back to their hometowns after the restoration of normalcy. Humanitarian Coordinator of UN in Pakistan, Martin Mogwanja and others accompanied Sir John Holmes.
Owais lauds UN help for IDPs
ajpirzada
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Scholarships for IDPs
Thursday, July 09, 2009
By Our Correspondent
LAHORE
PUNJAB University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has announced scholarships for internally displaced children of a school established at Shah Mansoor, Swabi.
He stated this at the inauguration of a camp school established by the Directorate of Education FATA at Shah Mansoor Phase II on Wednesday.
The VC also distributed school bags, notebooks and other stationery items among the students of the school. Punjab University Law College in-charge/Principal Shazia Naureen Qureshi inaugurated the girls section of the school and distributed stationery items among the girl students. The VC asked the EDO (health) Swabi and other officials concerned to provide data to university administration of those children whose parents had died or had been killed in Swat, Bunner and Deer. Vice Chancellor also announced one month salary bonus for PU employees and teachers who had been rendering their services at Shah Mansoor Camp.
Taking notice of the increased cases of gastro and other waterborne diseases among the IDPs, Dr Mujahid expressed the possibility of installing a water filtration plant with the help of donor agencies. The VC also visited various camps and talked to children and other displaced persons. A briefing in connection with status of IDPs in Swabi district was also organized by the EDO health. He also formally announced establishment of a Disaster Management Cell in Punjab University to impart proper training to the Punjab University teachers, students and employees.
Later speaking at a ceremony held at the EDO office, the VC said the PU medical camp had provided healthcare to 15000 IDPs so far; Rs.14,00,000 medicines had been provided; 24 hour ambulance services and Rs.19,00,000 new clothes and Rs. one million dry milk (Needo, Lactogen) had also been provided to the displaced persons.
Scholarships for IDPs
Thursday, July 09, 2009
By Our Correspondent
LAHORE
PUNJAB University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has announced scholarships for internally displaced children of a school established at Shah Mansoor, Swabi.
He stated this at the inauguration of a camp school established by the Directorate of Education FATA at Shah Mansoor Phase II on Wednesday.
The VC also distributed school bags, notebooks and other stationery items among the students of the school. Punjab University Law College in-charge/Principal Shazia Naureen Qureshi inaugurated the girls section of the school and distributed stationery items among the girl students. The VC asked the EDO (health) Swabi and other officials concerned to provide data to university administration of those children whose parents had died or had been killed in Swat, Bunner and Deer. Vice Chancellor also announced one month salary bonus for PU employees and teachers who had been rendering their services at Shah Mansoor Camp.
Taking notice of the increased cases of gastro and other waterborne diseases among the IDPs, Dr Mujahid expressed the possibility of installing a water filtration plant with the help of donor agencies. The VC also visited various camps and talked to children and other displaced persons. A briefing in connection with status of IDPs in Swabi district was also organized by the EDO health. He also formally announced establishment of a Disaster Management Cell in Punjab University to impart proper training to the Punjab University teachers, students and employees.
Later speaking at a ceremony held at the EDO office, the VC said the PU medical camp had provided healthcare to 15000 IDPs so far; Rs.14,00,000 medicines had been provided; 24 hour ambulance services and Rs.19,00,000 new clothes and Rs. one million dry milk (Needo, Lactogen) had also been provided to the displaced persons.
Scholarships for IDPs
ajpirzada
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Free ration, transport for IDPs
PESHAWAR: The provincial government will provide transportation and one month’s ration free of cost to internally displaced persons (IDPs), Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on Thursday. “This process of repatriation will be complete within 14 days,” Hussain said, adding that the process would start at the union council level. He said people from Buner and Swat would return first. However, he did not say when the people of Lower Dir could return to their homes. He said the government would also provide tents for the people whose homes were destroyed during the operation. staff report
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
IF THEY COULD DO THIS, IT WILL BE A BIG ACHIEVEMENT. LAST TIME THEY SAID TRANSPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THOSE FLEEIN THEIR AREA. BUT NOTHING SUCH WAS EVER SEEN HAPPENIN...
PESHAWAR: The provincial government will provide transportation and one month’s ration free of cost to internally displaced persons (IDPs), Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on Thursday. “This process of repatriation will be complete within 14 days,” Hussain said, adding that the process would start at the union council level. He said people from Buner and Swat would return first. However, he did not say when the people of Lower Dir could return to their homes. He said the government would also provide tents for the people whose homes were destroyed during the operation. staff report
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
IF THEY COULD DO THIS, IT WILL BE A BIG ACHIEVEMENT. LAST TIME THEY SAID TRANSPORT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THOSE FLEEIN THEIR AREA. BUT NOTHING SUCH WAS EVER SEEN HAPPENIN...
ajpirzada
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IDPs to return from 13th: PM
* Gilani says targets of Malakand military operation achieved
* Says SSG to devise detailed return plan
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: The return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes will begin from July 13, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced on Thursday.
Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Gilani said the government had achieved the targets of the military operation in Malakand division.
We have achieved the targets, Gilani said, however he made it clear that the army would remain in the areas beyond the end of the operation.
About the return of the IDPs, the premier said, It will be a phased return and will be carried out by the governments Special Support Group (SSG). The SSG has been tasked to work out details of the schedule for the return. All possible measures will be taken for the IDPs safe return to their homes.
He said the government had been forced to resort to the military option in Swat and Malakand after the Taliban not only challenged the writ of the state but also tried to run a parallel government.
They even refused to recognise the countrys constitution, parliament, democracy, and the judiciary, despite the government ceding to their demand of implementing the Nizam-e-Adl, he said.
Gilani praised the armed forces for their unprecedented sacrifices in the military operation and announced the construction of a monument in recognition of their sacrifices.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* Gilani says targets of Malakand military operation achieved
* Says SSG to devise detailed return plan
By Zulfiqar Ghuman
ISLAMABAD: The return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes will begin from July 13, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani announced on Thursday.
Addressing a joint press conference with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, Gilani said the government had achieved the targets of the military operation in Malakand division.
We have achieved the targets, Gilani said, however he made it clear that the army would remain in the areas beyond the end of the operation.
About the return of the IDPs, the premier said, It will be a phased return and will be carried out by the governments Special Support Group (SSG). The SSG has been tasked to work out details of the schedule for the return. All possible measures will be taken for the IDPs safe return to their homes.
He said the government had been forced to resort to the military option in Swat and Malakand after the Taliban not only challenged the writ of the state but also tried to run a parallel government.
They even refused to recognise the countrys constitution, parliament, democracy, and the judiciary, despite the government ceding to their demand of implementing the Nizam-e-Adl, he said.
Gilani praised the armed forces for their unprecedented sacrifices in the military operation and announced the construction of a monument in recognition of their sacrifices.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
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IDPs return starts today
Monday, July 13, 2009
Kaira says 125,000 displaced families given Rs 25,000 each
By Delawar Jan
PESHAWAR: Spending more than two months in camps after the commencement of the military operation in Malakand Division, over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are set to return home from today (Monday).
The convoys of the IDPs would be streaming in the beautiful valley amid tight security arrangements, backed by military gunship helicopters. The security is aimed at avoiding any untoward incident during the IDPs return.
The Emergency Response Unit (ERU), a body formed to deal the issue of the IDPs, said that about 5,760 families would be repatriated to their homes in the first phase starting from today (Monday). A spokesman for the ERU, Adnan Khan, told The News that 720 buses and 52 trucks would carry the displaced families to Landakay, Barikot, Guratai and Kota areas of the troubled Swat Valley.
According to the plan, the IDPs would be sent back in four phases. The IDPs living in camps, schools, private houses and other provinces would be sent back in the first, second, third and fourth phases, respectively.
As many as 2,433 IDP families from Jalozai and 570 from Familio camps in Nowshera district would set out for Swat at 7:00 am, while 155 families from Salim Sugar Mills and Palosa camps in Charsadda would start off their journey to Swat in buses and trucks. The first phase would be completed in two days. The ERU said that the host families belonging to Barikot, Kota, Landakay and Guratai could also go back in their private vehicles after 1:00 pm.
According to the ERU, the return plan for the in-camp IDPs has been changed. Arrangements have been made for the repatriation of those in-camp IDPs from Buner who might have stayed back for one reason or another and wished to return voluntarily, the ERU said.
During the repatriation of the IDPs to Swat, extraordinary security measures would be put in place. The ERU said the security officials would be deployed throughout the way and military gunship helicopters would oversee the convoys.
Moreover, health unit would also accompany the convoys to meet any emergency. It said the curfew would remain in force on the way and no vehicle would be allowed to stop en route the valley.
One-month foodstuff would be provided to the IDPs prior to their return. The displaced people were seen going back to their homes on foot on the main Mingora-Peshawar road on Sunday. Two women and a child were wounded by security forces when they fired at a car moving into Mingora city in Rahimabad, a town situated some three kilometres south of the city. They were identified as Muddasir, Abida and Zeenat Begum.
It was learnt that curfew passes were being issued to government employees and farmers. APP adds: Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said repatriation process of the internally displaced persons will start from Monday (today) and 125,000 displaced families have already been paid Rs 25,000 each through the UBL visa cards.
Talking to BBC Radio, the minister said the internally displaced persons would return to their hometowns in phases and they would be provided all help in this regard. He said facilities like electricity, Sui gas, telephone and running water have been restored in the affected areas of Swat.
Meanwhile, all the arrangements have been finalised by the government and other social-welfare organisations for the smooth and dignified return of 23,040 internally displaced families of Malakand Division.
The return process of the IDPs is likely to complete within 14 days. The district administration of Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda and Nowshera and relief organisations have made special arrangements to facilitate the IDPs upon their return process.
The Commissioner Mardan Division has imposed a complete ban on all kinds of leaves, including weekly offs, of the government servants in all the district government offices keeping in view the grave emergency situation and beginning of return process of the IDPs.
All the district heads of government departments in Mardan and Swabi, along with their subordinate staff, would remain present on their station of duty and would not leave the station without prior permission of the Commissioner Mardan.
Meanwhile, welcome banners have been installed on roads leading to Swat, Dir and Malakand Agency. The banners with slogans of ìLong live Pakistanî, ìWelcome our displaced brethrenî and ìSay no to militancyî have been fixed on various corners of the roads.
IDPs return starts today
Monday, July 13, 2009
Kaira says 125,000 displaced families given Rs 25,000 each
By Delawar Jan
PESHAWAR: Spending more than two months in camps after the commencement of the military operation in Malakand Division, over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are set to return home from today (Monday).
The convoys of the IDPs would be streaming in the beautiful valley amid tight security arrangements, backed by military gunship helicopters. The security is aimed at avoiding any untoward incident during the IDPs return.
The Emergency Response Unit (ERU), a body formed to deal the issue of the IDPs, said that about 5,760 families would be repatriated to their homes in the first phase starting from today (Monday). A spokesman for the ERU, Adnan Khan, told The News that 720 buses and 52 trucks would carry the displaced families to Landakay, Barikot, Guratai and Kota areas of the troubled Swat Valley.
According to the plan, the IDPs would be sent back in four phases. The IDPs living in camps, schools, private houses and other provinces would be sent back in the first, second, third and fourth phases, respectively.
As many as 2,433 IDP families from Jalozai and 570 from Familio camps in Nowshera district would set out for Swat at 7:00 am, while 155 families from Salim Sugar Mills and Palosa camps in Charsadda would start off their journey to Swat in buses and trucks. The first phase would be completed in two days. The ERU said that the host families belonging to Barikot, Kota, Landakay and Guratai could also go back in their private vehicles after 1:00 pm.
According to the ERU, the return plan for the in-camp IDPs has been changed. Arrangements have been made for the repatriation of those in-camp IDPs from Buner who might have stayed back for one reason or another and wished to return voluntarily, the ERU said.
During the repatriation of the IDPs to Swat, extraordinary security measures would be put in place. The ERU said the security officials would be deployed throughout the way and military gunship helicopters would oversee the convoys.
Moreover, health unit would also accompany the convoys to meet any emergency. It said the curfew would remain in force on the way and no vehicle would be allowed to stop en route the valley.
One-month foodstuff would be provided to the IDPs prior to their return. The displaced people were seen going back to their homes on foot on the main Mingora-Peshawar road on Sunday. Two women and a child were wounded by security forces when they fired at a car moving into Mingora city in Rahimabad, a town situated some three kilometres south of the city. They were identified as Muddasir, Abida and Zeenat Begum.
It was learnt that curfew passes were being issued to government employees and farmers. APP adds: Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has said repatriation process of the internally displaced persons will start from Monday (today) and 125,000 displaced families have already been paid Rs 25,000 each through the UBL visa cards.
Talking to BBC Radio, the minister said the internally displaced persons would return to their hometowns in phases and they would be provided all help in this regard. He said facilities like electricity, Sui gas, telephone and running water have been restored in the affected areas of Swat.
Meanwhile, all the arrangements have been finalised by the government and other social-welfare organisations for the smooth and dignified return of 23,040 internally displaced families of Malakand Division.
The return process of the IDPs is likely to complete within 14 days. The district administration of Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda and Nowshera and relief organisations have made special arrangements to facilitate the IDPs upon their return process.
The Commissioner Mardan Division has imposed a complete ban on all kinds of leaves, including weekly offs, of the government servants in all the district government offices keeping in view the grave emergency situation and beginning of return process of the IDPs.
All the district heads of government departments in Mardan and Swabi, along with their subordinate staff, would remain present on their station of duty and would not leave the station without prior permission of the Commissioner Mardan.
Meanwhile, welcome banners have been installed on roads leading to Swat, Dir and Malakand Agency. The banners with slogans of ìLong live Pakistanî, ìWelcome our displaced brethrenî and ìSay no to militancyî have been fixed on various corners of the roads.
IDPs return starts today
ajpirzada
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Displaced families being transported back to Swat
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 12:00 PM PST
JALOZAI CAMP: Pakistan on Monday began bussing home dozens of families, among nearly two million people displaced by fighting between the military and Taliban fighters in the northwest.
The government laid on buses and trucks at different camps set up by the local authorities and the UN refugee agency in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), said AFP correspondents.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani last week announced plans to start sending back the displaced from Monday, saying that the military had ‘eliminated’ the extremists during a two-month assault in and around the district of Swat.
‘There are 120 families returning to their hometowns today from Jalozai camp,’ a spokesman for the special support group, set up by the government to handle the displacement crisis, told AFP.
Located in the northwestern town of Nowshera, the camp had hosted nearly 4,000 families, according to the website of the Emergency Response Unit.
‘It's a very big day for me because I'm returning home today with my family members,’ 29-year-old Shakir Zada told AFP before boarding a bus at Jalozai destined to take him back to the southern Swat town of Barikot.
Pakistan launched an offensive against the Taliban in the northwest districts of Buner, Lower Dir and Swat after militants advanced to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad in defiance of a peace deal.
The offensive sparked a huge evacuation.
Most of the 1.9 million displaced, including about 500,000 who fled an earlier offensive last year, have crowded into relatives' homes, while others are crammed into hot and dusty refugee camps.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Displaced families being transported back to Swat
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 12:00 PM PST
JALOZAI CAMP: Pakistan on Monday began bussing home dozens of families, among nearly two million people displaced by fighting between the military and Taliban fighters in the northwest.
The government laid on buses and trucks at different camps set up by the local authorities and the UN refugee agency in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), said AFP correspondents.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani last week announced plans to start sending back the displaced from Monday, saying that the military had ‘eliminated’ the extremists during a two-month assault in and around the district of Swat.
‘There are 120 families returning to their hometowns today from Jalozai camp,’ a spokesman for the special support group, set up by the government to handle the displacement crisis, told AFP.
Located in the northwestern town of Nowshera, the camp had hosted nearly 4,000 families, according to the website of the Emergency Response Unit.
‘It's a very big day for me because I'm returning home today with my family members,’ 29-year-old Shakir Zada told AFP before boarding a bus at Jalozai destined to take him back to the southern Swat town of Barikot.
Pakistan launched an offensive against the Taliban in the northwest districts of Buner, Lower Dir and Swat after militants advanced to within 100 kilometres of Islamabad in defiance of a peace deal.
The offensive sparked a huge evacuation.
Most of the 1.9 million displaced, including about 500,000 who fled an earlier offensive last year, have crowded into relatives' homes, while others are crammed into hot and dusty refugee camps.
DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Displaced families being transported back to Swat
ajpirzada
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IDPs living outside camps allowed to return home
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 07:29 AM PST
PESHAWAR: With the return of the internally displaced persons living in camps officially beginning on Monday, the NWFP government has also allowed the IDPs living outside the camps to go back to some areas in the district of Swat.
It is learnt that the Emergency Response Unit took the decision after a large number of ‘off-camp IDPs’ met its officials and said they also wanted to return to their homes.
The government had announced that at this stage only the IDPs living in the 11 officially designated camps would be allowed to return.
According to a plan worked out by the ERU at a meeting chaired by its chief Azam Khan, IDPs living in camps will leave in the morning and those outside the camps will be able to go after 1pm. On July 13 and 14, both the ‘in-camp’ and ‘off-camp’ IDPs hailing from Landakai, Kota, Guratai and Barikot areas would be allowed to leave.
People from Ghalagai, Maniar, Udigram and Ballogram would go back on July 15 and 16 in the second phase. In the third phase, from July 17 to 20, the IDPs from Mingora City, Central City, Hajiabad, Malukabad, Gulkada and Saidu Sharif will leave.
For the IDPs leaving the camps transport will be provided by the government. Around 5,760 families will leave camps for their homes on Monday and Tuesday.
Around 3,250 families will leave four of camps in Charssada and Nowshera —Saleem Sugar Mills, Palosa, Familio and Jalozai — on Monday. The government has arranged around 410 buses and 40 trucks for them.
Strict security measures will be made on the road to Swat. Arrangements have been made for scanning the IDPs at Dargai.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | IDPs living outside camps allowed to return home
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 07:29 AM PST
PESHAWAR: With the return of the internally displaced persons living in camps officially beginning on Monday, the NWFP government has also allowed the IDPs living outside the camps to go back to some areas in the district of Swat.
It is learnt that the Emergency Response Unit took the decision after a large number of ‘off-camp IDPs’ met its officials and said they also wanted to return to their homes.
The government had announced that at this stage only the IDPs living in the 11 officially designated camps would be allowed to return.
According to a plan worked out by the ERU at a meeting chaired by its chief Azam Khan, IDPs living in camps will leave in the morning and those outside the camps will be able to go after 1pm. On July 13 and 14, both the ‘in-camp’ and ‘off-camp’ IDPs hailing from Landakai, Kota, Guratai and Barikot areas would be allowed to leave.
People from Ghalagai, Maniar, Udigram and Ballogram would go back on July 15 and 16 in the second phase. In the third phase, from July 17 to 20, the IDPs from Mingora City, Central City, Hajiabad, Malukabad, Gulkada and Saidu Sharif will leave.
For the IDPs leaving the camps transport will be provided by the government. Around 5,760 families will leave camps for their homes on Monday and Tuesday.
Around 3,250 families will leave four of camps in Charssada and Nowshera —Saleem Sugar Mills, Palosa, Familio and Jalozai — on Monday. The government has arranged around 410 buses and 40 trucks for them.
Strict security measures will be made on the road to Swat. Arrangements have been made for scanning the IDPs at Dargai.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | IDPs living outside camps allowed to return home
ajpirzada
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Swat IDPs skeptical of return plan
By Waseem Ahmad Shah
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 12:58 PM PST |
PESHAWAR: The displaced persons, who lost their houses and family members during the conflict and military operation in Swat, are skeptical of the repatriation plan announced by the government and demand compensation for their losses.
They are critical of the government plan citing various reasons including the presence of militants in different parts of Kabal and Matta tehsils of Swat.
Some of them claim that they have personal enmity with militants in their respective areas and they cannot go back till complete elimination of militants.
‘Militants had killed three of our female family members on Feb 4 on minor issue of providing drinking water to security forces. Since then we have been living in Charssada as we have now personal enmity with those people,’ said Bukht Munir, hailing from Dagai village of Matta, a stronghold of militants.
He added that they had received information from their areas that militants had still been roaming around.
According to his account of the incident, around 15 to 20 militants had attacked their residence when they were not around and killed his mother and two sisters-in-law (wives of his two brothers). The attackers had also taken away their vehicle and made hostage two of his relatives, who were released after payment of money.
‘So far we have not been given any compensation by the federal or provincial government and we have now been living in miserable conditions,’ he said.
Mohammad Zada, another displaced person, said that they had no place to go back as their houses were destroyed during bombing by jetfighters. Mr Zada lost eight of his family members in the bombing including his wife, four children, a daughter-in-law, a grand daughter and a guest.
‘I am a poor labourer and had gone to Mardan along with my son when the incident took place on May 10 soon after the military operation was launched,’ he said, adding that the remaining members of his family had now been residing at a school in Charssada district.
Three other houses situated near his residence at Shofin village were also destroyed in which five persons were killed. One of the inmates of those houses, Ghulam Mohammad, a distant relative of Mr Zada, said that their area had yet to be cleared of militants as it was situated near Peuchar valley, the headquarters of militants.
‘When the house of Mohammad Zada was hit we rushed to retrieve bodies from the debris and in the meantime jets returned and bombed my house,’ he said. The bodies were mostly dismembered beyond recognition.
Another displaced person, who did not want to be named, said that militants had been lurking around in various areas and their leadership had still been intact. ‘How could we return to our areas when a dreaded commander Ibne Amin and his brother Ibne Aqeel have still been seen there? People are scared of them and scores of other commanders,’ he added.
A social activist from Swat, Ishaq Khan, said that people mostly demanded that the operation should be taken to its logical conclusion, which also included targeting of militant leadership. ‘People want that Maulana Fazlullah and other leaders of the militants should be apprehended and they should be interrogated to know as to who are the masterminds behind them,’ he said.
Despite all the apprehensions, he said, people wanted to go back as they did not want to live life of an IDP.
Last month, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti had announced that they had approved a package for the citizens affected by sectarianism, army operation and terrorism.
He had announced that Rs300,000 would be given for each killed person, Rs200,000 for each permanently disabled person, Rs300,000 in the case of complete destruction of house to the owner and Rs50,000 for partly destructed house.
However, the mechanism for providing that compensation has yet to be adopted.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | Swat IDPs skeptical of return plan
By Waseem Ahmad Shah
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009 | 12:58 PM PST |
PESHAWAR: The displaced persons, who lost their houses and family members during the conflict and military operation in Swat, are skeptical of the repatriation plan announced by the government and demand compensation for their losses.
They are critical of the government plan citing various reasons including the presence of militants in different parts of Kabal and Matta tehsils of Swat.
Some of them claim that they have personal enmity with militants in their respective areas and they cannot go back till complete elimination of militants.
‘Militants had killed three of our female family members on Feb 4 on minor issue of providing drinking water to security forces. Since then we have been living in Charssada as we have now personal enmity with those people,’ said Bukht Munir, hailing from Dagai village of Matta, a stronghold of militants.
He added that they had received information from their areas that militants had still been roaming around.
According to his account of the incident, around 15 to 20 militants had attacked their residence when they were not around and killed his mother and two sisters-in-law (wives of his two brothers). The attackers had also taken away their vehicle and made hostage two of his relatives, who were released after payment of money.
‘So far we have not been given any compensation by the federal or provincial government and we have now been living in miserable conditions,’ he said.
Mohammad Zada, another displaced person, said that they had no place to go back as their houses were destroyed during bombing by jetfighters. Mr Zada lost eight of his family members in the bombing including his wife, four children, a daughter-in-law, a grand daughter and a guest.
‘I am a poor labourer and had gone to Mardan along with my son when the incident took place on May 10 soon after the military operation was launched,’ he said, adding that the remaining members of his family had now been residing at a school in Charssada district.
Three other houses situated near his residence at Shofin village were also destroyed in which five persons were killed. One of the inmates of those houses, Ghulam Mohammad, a distant relative of Mr Zada, said that their area had yet to be cleared of militants as it was situated near Peuchar valley, the headquarters of militants.
‘When the house of Mohammad Zada was hit we rushed to retrieve bodies from the debris and in the meantime jets returned and bombed my house,’ he said. The bodies were mostly dismembered beyond recognition.
Another displaced person, who did not want to be named, said that militants had been lurking around in various areas and their leadership had still been intact. ‘How could we return to our areas when a dreaded commander Ibne Amin and his brother Ibne Aqeel have still been seen there? People are scared of them and scores of other commanders,’ he added.
A social activist from Swat, Ishaq Khan, said that people mostly demanded that the operation should be taken to its logical conclusion, which also included targeting of militant leadership. ‘People want that Maulana Fazlullah and other leaders of the militants should be apprehended and they should be interrogated to know as to who are the masterminds behind them,’ he said.
Despite all the apprehensions, he said, people wanted to go back as they did not want to live life of an IDP.
Last month, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti had announced that they had approved a package for the citizens affected by sectarianism, army operation and terrorism.
He had announced that Rs300,000 would be given for each killed person, Rs200,000 for each permanently disabled person, Rs300,000 in the case of complete destruction of house to the owner and Rs50,000 for partly destructed house.
However, the mechanism for providing that compensation has yet to be adopted.
DAWN.COM | Provinces | Swat IDPs skeptical of return plan
brilTek
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Shortage Of Food Handouts Sparks Violence In Pakistan
SWABI, PAKISTAN - JULY 13: An angry mob carry a man from Swat laying on a charpai, or makeshitft bed, who according to bystanders, was beaten by Police, on asking for his food rations in a queue at the Yar Hussain UNHCR camp in Chota Lahore on July 13, 2009 in Swabi district, Pakistan.
Thousands of families have been urged by the government to return to their homes in Lower Swat, Malakand and Buner. Hundreds of IDPs queued today at the Yar Hussain camp to receive their final two month food rations before leaving the camp and departing for their respective homes. The IDPs were not handed out their rations, and according to bystanders, Police in charge of distribution beat a man after he asked for his ration, sparking an angry mob which ransacked the Camp Directors Office and other rations. The army could not keep back the mob of frustrated IDPs, who carried the man from Swats' injured body on a Charpai, or makeshift bed, to present to the camp director. The Army then loaded the injured man onto a truck to take to a nearby hospital
The police can only baton charge poor civilians.......and can't fight talibaans.
Also seems a lot of corruption in food distribution is underway.
SWABI, PAKISTAN - JULY 13: An angry mob carry a man from Swat laying on a charpai, or makeshitft bed, who according to bystanders, was beaten by Police, on asking for his food rations in a queue at the Yar Hussain UNHCR camp in Chota Lahore on July 13, 2009 in Swabi district, Pakistan.
Thousands of families have been urged by the government to return to their homes in Lower Swat, Malakand and Buner. Hundreds of IDPs queued today at the Yar Hussain camp to receive their final two month food rations before leaving the camp and departing for their respective homes. The IDPs were not handed out their rations, and according to bystanders, Police in charge of distribution beat a man after he asked for his ration, sparking an angry mob which ransacked the Camp Directors Office and other rations. The army could not keep back the mob of frustrated IDPs, who carried the man from Swats' injured body on a Charpai, or makeshift bed, to present to the camp director. The Army then loaded the injured man onto a truck to take to a nearby hospital
The police can only baton charge poor civilians.......and can't fight talibaans.
Also seems a lot of corruption in food distribution is underway.
ajpirzada
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Returning home with a smile
A family waits for transport after they have packed and are ready to return to their villages from Jalozai Internal Displaced camp near Peshawar, Pakistan.
A man collects his belonging as he prepared to return home from Jalozai Internal Displaced camp near Peshawar.
Men load their belongings into a truck.
A man helps people load their belongings into a truck.
Children sit on the bundles of belongings, waiting to return home.
Children look out from a bus.
A displaced family in a bus ready to return to their villages and towns.
A man with his belongings packed waits to return home.
A family waits for transport after they have packed and are ready to return to their villages from Jalozai Internal Displaced camp near Peshawar, Pakistan.
A man collects his belonging as he prepared to return home from Jalozai Internal Displaced camp near Peshawar.
Men load their belongings into a truck.
A man helps people load their belongings into a truck.
Children sit on the bundles of belongings, waiting to return home.
Children look out from a bus.
A displaced family in a bus ready to return to their villages and towns.
A man with his belongings packed waits to return home.
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