Military operations displace thousands in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, October 8: Thousands of people, displaced by the ongoing military operations in Pakistan's tribal agency of Bajaur and the settled district of Swat, are arriving in Peshawar, which is always conjested with the presence of thousands of Afghan refugees.

This is the second time in two months that the ongoing fighting has displaced the people of Bajaur who are now living at a tented village erected by the Pakistani government and the United Nations agencies on the rubbles of the Kacha Garhi Afghan refugee camp on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Although workers are busy erecting tents and levling ground to make makeshift schools, community kitchens, dispensaries and other necessary places, people with children, women and elderly are arriving there in large number to get a small tent for shelter.

During a visit to the area, many families complained that they are waiting there by the roadside for three three days but the officials did not allotted them a tent so far. "We passed two nights along with our children and women under the open sky," said a young man sitting beside his family on the roadside.

The people also are running out of money as they say they have left everything in their houses to save their lives. "Jets and helicopters were bombing our areas and we got no time to pick ever two pairs of cloths," said Rahimullah, resident of Loy Sam area of Bajaur.

Loy Sam is said to be the stronghold of Taliban in Bajaur and locals as well as security officials say that the security forces were facing tough resistence from Taliban in that area.

Having little or no money to buy food for themselves and their families, the internally displaced people (IDPs) of Bajaur are looking towards the UN and the Pakistani government for help.

They rush whenever a UN vehicle stops nearby with the hope to get some food items, relief goods or a registration card for allotment of a three by four yard tent to shelter their families consisting of women, children and aged people.

The IDPs eagerly narrates their ordeals while leaving the area, but they avoid to say something about the atrocities of Taliban. "It is because we afraid of the Taliban as we have to go back there one day," said a Bajaur resident who did not want to be named. He added that the people of Bajaur hate those bearded men. "We do not know who are they and from where they come becuase they are not local," said the bearded man.

At the same time, the Bajaur IDPs do not spare the Pakistani government either. They accuse the government and security forces of targeting civilian population instead of hitting the militants.

Sitting on the roadside with children as young as six months old with them, the burqa-clad women can be seen in a desperate pursuit to keep their faces covered throughout the day. Tribal customs do not allow a woman to come out in open and interact with men other than her close relatives.

“It will be better to be killed by a jet, helicopter or an artillery shell instead of this shameful life,” said Arifullah from Anad Kalay (village) of Shin Kot area. “We slept on the grass last night with mosquitoes playing on our bodies and that of our children,” said the bearded young man sitting beside four women, three children, an elderly man and two locked boxes.

Lal Zarin, another IDP from Charmang area of Bajaur, said many people had fled the villages without offering funeral prayers of their family members killed in helicopters and artillery shelling. He said people did not like Taliban, but they equally despised the government for the “slapdash” bombing.

“All those being killed by jets, helicopters or artillery are civilians, and not those challenging writ of the government,” he added. “We left everything there and decided to flee to save our lives.”

Hundreds of people left Bajaur and arrived into Dir, Taimargara, Mardan, Charsadda, Sawabi and Peshawar after the launching of the first phase of the operation some two months back.

The IDPs returned to their areas about a month earlier following the government’s announcement that operation would be halted during the month of Ramazan. However, thousands of people again started leaving their areas days before Eid to get refuge in Peshawar or other districts of NWFP as the bombing was further intensified instead of any respite.

Ghulam Yousaf, resident of Mamoond tehsil, claimed that not a single Talib had been killed so far. “Why the security forces do not shoot them when they roaming with Kalashnikovs and rocket launchers in front of them,” he questioned.

Yousaf said his one brother passed Eid in Sawabi, another at Haji Camp while he and his family remained at Kacha Garhi. But peace is more important to Yousaf than Eid as he wants to go back to his area and live in peace there.

“We celebrated Eid while on way to Peshawar,” said 16-year-old Himayatullah of Rashakai area. He said schools were closed and the fighting wasted his one academic year.

“We have no clothes, no shelter and no food here,” said Himayatullah, who complained that only a small tent could not solve problems of the people who were forced to leave their bustling houses and become refugees in their own country. ENDS