Hundreds of families have been displaced from Kurram Agency in northwestern Pakistan by a fresh military operation against militants based in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province (KP), and many are finding it hard to find shelter.
“It is not easy, local people have put up the prices, and if I use up too much of my savings we will have nothing to live on. Who knows how long this displacement will last,” Asim Ali, 35, told IRIN as he searched for a room for his family of six in the small KP town of Hangu.
A wave of displacement from Kurram, which is close to the Pakistan-Afghan border, began last week.
The displaced families complain they are being ignored by the authorities. “No one is really helping us. We don’t know where to go,” Hakimullah Gul, 50, said.
The Disaster Management Authority for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is reportedly short of tents, food and non-food items to help the displaced. We need “tents, food, non-food items, health and washing facilities for the IDPs [internally displaced persons],” an official was quoted as saying.
In the meantime, problems are mounting as more people flee. “Around 85,000 people from Kurram are now displaced,” Sahibzada Anis, the district coordination officer for Peshwar, told IRIN.
Adnan Khan, a spokesman for KP’s Disaster Management Authority, told IRIN: “The district authorities in Hangu have been directed to house IDPs at the Togh Serai camp there.”
IDPs are also being housed at the New Durrani camp in Lower Kurram. “This is a former camp for Afghan refugees now being used for the IDPs,” Duniya Aslam Khan, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), told IRIN. She said UNHCR was coordinating with local authorities to meet needs.
UNHCR deploying extra staff
According to the UNHCR, 700 families (4,900 individuals) have sought refuge at New Durrani camp, while 8,000 other families (56,000 individuals) had been registered by local authorities living in the community.
“There is an urgent need to improve infrastructure with proper layout of tents, construction of latrines, washrooms and kitchens, and to conduct a verifiable electronic registration process," said Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR's Pakistan representative. "That's why we are urgently deploying expert staff to help authorities manage the situation."
The problems facing the IDPs are similar to those faced in the past. “The IDPs coming in don’t like to live in camps. They see this as a loss in dignity and privacy, especially for women who must live in camps close to strangers, and therefore prefer moving in with relatives or into rented space.
"That makes it harder in many ways to deliver assistance to them,” said Murad Khan, 20, a medical student who has volunteered since 2009 with local NGOs to help IDPs.
According to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Pakistan currently has 500,000 IDPs, but displacement from Kurram is adding to that number.
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“It is not easy, local people have put up the prices, and if I use up too much of my savings we will have nothing to live on. Who knows how long this displacement will last,” Asim Ali, 35, told IRIN as he searched for a room for his family of six in the small KP town of Hangu.
A wave of displacement from Kurram, which is close to the Pakistan-Afghan border, began last week.
The displaced families complain they are being ignored by the authorities. “No one is really helping us. We don’t know where to go,” Hakimullah Gul, 50, said.
The Disaster Management Authority for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is reportedly short of tents, food and non-food items to help the displaced. We need “tents, food, non-food items, health and washing facilities for the IDPs [internally displaced persons],” an official was quoted as saying.
In the meantime, problems are mounting as more people flee. “Around 85,000 people from Kurram are now displaced,” Sahibzada Anis, the district coordination officer for Peshwar, told IRIN.
Photo: ReliefWeb |
| Kurram Agency is located near the Pakistan border with Afghanistan |
IDPs are also being housed at the New Durrani camp in Lower Kurram. “This is a former camp for Afghan refugees now being used for the IDPs,” Duniya Aslam Khan, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), told IRIN. She said UNHCR was coordinating with local authorities to meet needs.
UNHCR deploying extra staff
According to the UNHCR, 700 families (4,900 individuals) have sought refuge at New Durrani camp, while 8,000 other families (56,000 individuals) had been registered by local authorities living in the community.
“There is an urgent need to improve infrastructure with proper layout of tents, construction of latrines, washrooms and kitchens, and to conduct a verifiable electronic registration process," said Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR's Pakistan representative. "That's why we are urgently deploying expert staff to help authorities manage the situation."
The problems facing the IDPs are similar to those faced in the past. “The IDPs coming in don’t like to live in camps. They see this as a loss in dignity and privacy, especially for women who must live in camps close to strangers, and therefore prefer moving in with relatives or into rented space.
"That makes it harder in many ways to deliver assistance to them,” said Murad Khan, 20, a medical student who has volunteered since 2009 with local NGOs to help IDPs.
According to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Pakistan currently has 500,000 IDPs, but displacement from Kurram is adding to that number.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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