Pakistan: How the government should handle the IDPs issue

One visit by the prime mister is not enough either to realise the scale of the IDPs’ problem or to provide the displaced population a sense that those ruling the country care for them. There has already been enough mismanagement; there is room for no more. The military operation in the agency was on the cards since long. The lack of coordination between the law enforcers and the disaster management authorities is surprisingly visible at every stage from the transportation of the IDPs to their registration and provision of food and shelter. This has already caused enough bitterness. Urgent remedial measures are needed to stop the feeling from spreading.

What is needed is continuous and vigilant oversight of the way the IDPs are handled and relief goods distributed. It is not enough to promise that the government and army would work together for rehabilitation and that money will not be spared to fulfill the needs of the IDPs. Relief matters, but equally important is the way it is administered. When people have to stand in long queues for hours, in sizzling heat that they are not used to, tempers are likely to rise. What is needed on the part of the administration is patience and understanding. In case the provisions are in short supply, protests could become a daily routine.

The IDPs must not be made to feel that they are being neglected or humiliated. There is a need to analyse the causes that are giving rise to frustration. The distribution of relief goods could be slow and queues long either on account of the shortage of relief goods or paucity of volunteers. More relief goods with many more distribution counters may ease the situation. There is a need on the part of political parties and the NGOs to rise to the occasion. Duly screened volunteers provided by them should be allowed to work in camps.