Residents of Pakistans northwestern conflict-hit tribal belt of Wana have complained that no relief or human rights agency have acted to stem the deteriorating humanitarian situation following a military operation in the area designed to root out militants and those supporting them, the UN IRINNEWS agency said Wednesday.
Humanitarian organisations should have dispatched their teams and representatives to assess the loss of civilian lives, the demolition of houses, the disruption of livelihoods and the destruction of agriculture in the area, Wali Muhammad, a resident of the conflict-hit area of Shakai, told IRIN in the second largest city of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), Dera Ismail Khan (DIK).
We regret that no organisation has visited the area so far. They – the military – bombarded our houses. Innocent children and women lost their lives but no one bothers, Muhammad said, adding, We will show them the orchards and fields destroyed by the bombardment by the military. Only then can one have a balanced view. Otherwise there is no option except to believe the official statements.
The Pakistani military launched a full-scale military operation in March to weed out militants believed to be hiding in the tribal area of South Waziristan agency, the largest of the seven Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering the Afghan province of Paktika. The operation has continued since then in parallel with negotiations with local tribal leaders.
The operation, which involved light and heavy artillery, was mainly focused in an area of about 30 sq km around the district capital of Wana with nearly 200,000 inhabitants. Some 30,000 civilian displacements were reported by local media during the operation, besides civilian causalities and the demolition of houses.
The operation resumed in June on the northwestern side of Wana in the mountainous area of Shakai, which again forced hundreds to flee their homes leaving their belongings behind. An estimated 1,000 families have moved out of Shakai and adjacent areas since then, according to those who have moved to DIK. Many have moved to other adjacent urban and rural areas of Tank, adjacent to DIK.
Estimates of the number of people forced out by the military and paramilitary troops vary from thousands to at least 30,000. Amnesty International (AI) has reported that civilians of one village were given three hours to vacate their homes which forced many to leave valuables behind. While some of the displaced went to live with relatives, hundreds of people, including women and children, set up camps in the open on the outskirts of villages where no official shelter was made available to them, according to a recent report by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Local authorities have denied claims by local residents of large-scale displacements and the demolition of houses. Nobody has been targeted unnecessarily. Precise guided missiles have been used. And no bombardment at all has been carried out in populated areas, Asmatullah Khan Gandapur, the political agent of South Waziristan told IRIN from Wana.
On civilian displacement, Gandapur said: There is no large-scale migration because people do not move in summer in lower areas. They stay in the high mountains for the low temperatures. Secondly, no one was allowed to move as the routes were barricaded.
Disruption of livelihood has taken place, the political agent conceded, but asked, How can we expect normality in the situation, unless the militants surrender?
Muhammad noted that no announcement had been made by the authorities regarding compensation for house demolitions or agricultural losses.
Shakai is a backward area. Even the electricity has been provided only two to three years ago. Our main crops are wheat and maize, which is relatively less demanding of water, as there is no proper irrigation system. But this year agriculture has been damaged badly. It was sowing season when the army launched its operation in March. And this time, when fruit ripened, they put on the economic sanctions, Muhammad said.
Kilde: IRINNEWS, FN.
