The lower Kurram areas have long been a hideout for Taliban militants and criminals from other agencies and even from across the volatile border. And that is one major reason why this agency has experienced violence and turmoil in the last few years, which is however often dubbed as "sectarian" in the media.
The road from Thal to Parachinar has been opened. On Sunday, Nov 15, after another year of blockade (following the short-lived opening last year), 25 trucks loaded with food, medicine, and other basic supplies reached Parachinar, the agency capital. The local people, Kurram Militia, and the Government all worked together to make this happen. The government has also promised to set up 7 check posts along the road. 25 trucks, as should be obvious, is not enough for hundreds of thousands of residents of upper Kurram who are barely surviving. The residents of these areas do not have high expectations from the government. They are not asking for aid, just security and open passage so they can get their regular supplies from within Pakistan and wouldn't have to cross the border into Afghanistan. The Afghan route is both very costly and dangerous. I certainly hope that the government and its security apparatus deliver their promise this time.
25 trucks carrying edibles reach Parachinar
Monday, November 16, 2009, The News
Source
PARACHINAR: A convoy of security forces’ vehicles carrying edibles Sunday arrived here as the Parachinar-Sadda-Thall Road reopened after a closure for three years.
Official sources said 25 trucks of the security forces carrying food, medicines and other necessary items reached Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency. The arrival of the convoy with food items sent a wave of happiness among the residents as they had been facing severe shortage of edibles and medicines due to blockade of roads by militants.
Kurram Militia Commander Col Tausif Akhtar led the convoy named as ‘Peace Convoy,’ which was accorded a warm welcome by the residents at Balishkhel checkpost. The residents hoped the government would continue supply of foodstuffs and other goods to the agency and take steps for reopening of roads.
Gunship helicopters target Lower Kurram
Dawn, November 22, 2009
Source
PESHAWAR: As forces pound militant hideouts in Kurram Agency, residents flee to safer areas due to the threat of a possible military operation.
According to official sources, gunship helicopters targeted various areas of lower Kurram. It is beleived that the hideouts belong to militants linked to banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. On the other hand, residents of central Kurram have started migrating to safer areas.
Also, in Orakzai agency, militant hideouts in Mishti and Shahokhel areas were desroyed in airstrikes. Sources in the area claim that ongoing military operation in South Waziristan has forced militants to flee to areas of Lower, Central Kurram and Orakzai ageny.
Gilgit-Baltistan: next phase
Editorial, Daily Times, November 17, 2009
Source
The Election Commission (EC) has announced the official results in 19 constituencies for the legislative assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Reflecting closely the unofficial results, the EC awarded 12 seats to the People’s Party while the remaining seats were shared by the other parties. The results for four seats are still awaited. The disturbing aspect of the tail-end of electioneering for the first-ever legislative assembly in the recently designated autonomous region is the squabble between political parties over charges of rigging, pre-poll as well as on the polling day. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was quick to refute the charges of unfair electoral practices a day after the election. The second tier party leadership too has echoed the same views. However, the EC has already ordered re-polling in some parts of Diamer District. The PML-Q and MQM have protested against what they termed as “unfair manipulation of the electoral process by the ruling party to get their candidates elected”. However, the PML-Q leadership struck a positive note by announcing that “the result will be accepted for the sake of ensuring the continuity of the democratic process in the country.” This caveat was somewhat at odds with democratic norms. Citing “strategic national interests”, Chaudhry Shujaat demanded a consensus government in the region. The term “consensus” seems to be the newfound panacea for all political forces with poor showing at the ballot box or those elements who wish to paralyse the incumbent government of a highly polarised society. PML-Q has so far won one seat in the GB election. The demand for a “consensus government” when the PPP appears to have won a comfortable simple majority is tantamount to placing “consensus” over and above the electorate’s mandate.
Sadly, the appearance of democratic tolerance displayed by the top political leadership was less evident at the grassroots level where skirmishes broke out among the activists of various political parties and supporters of candidates. In two separate incidents of violence, PPP activists clashed with the supporters of the PML-N and MQM. Several people were injured and when the police appeared unable to pacify the situation, the local administration imposed Section 144 in Skardu. On a pleasantly surprising note, the local religious leaders of various sects were seen helping the administration towards the restoration of normalcy in the area.
Disagreements regarding the fairness or validity of the electoral process or the results thereof are normal, especially in South Asia. However, our constitutional scheme has laid out a clear procedure and a proper platform to seek redress in such a contingency, namely the EC. It is advisable for the aggrieved political parties to approach the EC with any evidence of electoral malpractices. To demand directly from the government that re-polling be held in certain constituencies where alleged discrepancies have occurred appears more like an exercise in political point scoring than observance of genuine democratic procedures. In this context, the statement of the regional PPP chief seems more in conformity with the ground realities. He has hinted at the possibility of forming a coalition government with the parties that are already part of the government at the centre. *
Showing posts with label NWFP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NWFP. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Pakistan Conflict - 1.5. Million Internally Displaced
FACTBOX: More than one million displaced in Pakistan
By Robert Birsel, Reuters, May 19, 2009
Source
A Pakistani military offensive against Taliban militants in their Swat valley bastion has forced more than a million people from their homes, the government and the United Nations say.
A failure to respond to one of the most dramatic displacement crises in recent times could generate instability, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said at the weekend as he called for "massive support" from the international community.
Following are some facts about the displaced.
- The number of people displaced by the fighting has risen to more than 1.4 million, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Monday.
- They are joining about 555,000 displaced by earlier fighting in the northwest.
- Thousands of people remain in the valley and the head of the government's relief effort said authorities were trying to ensure regular food supplies for them.
- The United Nations says about 48 percent of the displaced are children and the country faces a long-term humanitarian crisis.
- The United Nations said 15 to 20 percent of the displaced who have registered with authorities, or about 250,000 people, are in some 24 camps. The rest are staying with friends, relatives, in rented accommodation or in "spontaneous settlements" that have sprung up.
- The U.N. refugee agency has opened stockpiles of supplies to help the displaced and has also airlifted in 120 tons of supplies including plastic sheets for shelters and mosquito nets.
- The U.N. World Food Program has mobilized its in-country stocks and is feeding 780,000 people.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered 20 mini-emergency health kits, enough for 120,000 people for one month.
- A WHO spokesman in Geneva said late last week the health situation was not extremely serious but diseases were starting to take hold.
- The army, which played a major role in helping survivors of a big earthquake in 2005, is donating part of its rations to the relief effort, enough to feed about 80,000 adults a day.
- The United States has donated $4.9 million for basic supplies such as tents, blankets and cooking kits, while Britain had donated 10 million pounds ($15.19 million). France has promised 12 million euro ($8.8 million).
- Both the United Nations and the government are due to outline the needs and issue appeals for help this week.
------
Contending with displacements
By Syed Mohammad Ali, Daily Times, May 19, 2009
Source
Those working with the IDPs must realise that displaced people in general need not be treated as hapless victims as such treatment can further compound their sense of dislocation and undermine in-built resilience`
A steady stream of displacement has been unleashed by the military offensive against militants challenging the writ of the state in the Swat valley. This has occurred at a time when the NWFP government was already struggling to manage the displacements from the ongoing FATA conflict.
In fact, this latest wave of displacements is not confined to the Swat valley alone. People have been fleeing from the adjoining districts of Dir and Buner as well in order to escape the escalating violence. As a result, camps that had housed Afghan refugees for three decades have now become home to the multitudes displaced by the fighting in the NWFP itself.
It is important to realise though that the current displacements have not occurred due to an unforeseen natural disaster but instead are the obvious consequence of a premeditated military offensive. Many are thus criticising the relevant authorities for not being responsive enough to have prepared pre-emptive evacuation plans for the areas where military action was impending.
As a result of this lack of planning, civilians caught in the crossfire could not be provided adequate transport facilities to expediently transfer them to the safety of well-organised camps. Already distraught people have had to suffer unnecessary hardships due to haphazard displacement management.
Even the initial estimates of displacements to be caused by the ongoing conflict were grossly inaccurate. It was thought that no more than 100,000 to 200,000 people would leave their homes, but already over a million people have been dislodged, and every day, more people are leaving their homes and fleeing to safer locations.
Many displaced people are not heading to the camps. They are instead opting to be hosted by relatives in local communities spread across various districts. Had this not been the case, the already overstretched camp facilities for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) would have been stretched well beyond capacity. Instead of ignoring displaced people who are not residing in camps however, it is vital that they also be provided support, in the form of food vouchers for instance, to help lessen the burden on their hosts, many of whom are also not affluent people.
The formation of a new Support Group has been announced by the prime minister to contend with the IDP crisis, even though a National Disaster Management Authority had already been established, with UNDP support, after the 2005 earthquake. Despite the money spent on the NDMA, its ability to contend with conflict-evoked displacements was not considered adequate. Instead the Support Group was thus formed, which is to be headed by the former Deputy Chairman of the Emergency Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority.
The Support Group is tasked to work with the NWFP government, along with other senior representatives each from the interior, health, information, foreign affairs, cabinet and finance ministries. How this new entity will coordinate with the varied stakeholders to coordinate their efforts on-ground remains to be seen. What remains evident is the glaring need to better manage the present IDP crisis.
Besides the reported lack of electricity, food and medicines in different camps, stories about the delivery of unnecessary items like blankets amidst the rising temperatures have illustrated this need for more effective management. Numerous NGOs, donors and line departments are working on the ground, and the ability of the Support Group to quickly step in and manage all these different organisations for not only providing initial relief but also addressing the eventual rehabilitation needs of the IDPs will be the main challenge.
Clearly, the provincial government lacks sufficient resources and the initial allocation made by the federal government will also not be enough to provide the IDPs who have managed to flee to safety with a reasonable level of comfort. An international donor conference is planned to secure funds to support the IDPs, right after Pakistan has got done with trying to cajole its ‘friends’ to help overcome the lingering economic woes.
Organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent are trying to access people who were unable to flee the conflict, but the threat of attacks by militants on humanitarian workers makes this task quite a challenge.
It is also vital to realise here that women and children face unique pressures due to the displacement, which merit special attention. The lack of female medical attendants within the camps can unfortunately prevent women from conservative households from accessing available medical services. Camp life can be very difficult for women accustomed to strict segregation from men who are not family members. United Nations agencies have set up canvas walls around clusters of tents to give women more privacy.
Displaced women and children further face increased threats of sexual abuse and other forms of violence. Incidents of already victimised children, especially girls, being sold away after the October 2005 earthquake proved the actual danger of such instances, which provide human smugglers an opportunity to identify more victims. After the Balochistan earthquake however, a lesson had been learnt to lessen this hazard, which led to placing check-posts on major routes leading from the distraught areas to curb human smuggling.
A national conference was organised last year in Islamabad particularly to highlight the impact of displacements on children in view of the NWFP and Balochistan earthquakes, and the flood in Sindh. It would be useful for practitioners and line departments working with the IDPs to take a closer look at these findings and try to create not only makeshift schools, but also safe play areas, and put in place community-led child protection mechanisms within IDP camps themselves to prevent abuse or abduction of children.
Moreover, given the rush and chaos in which displacements initially occurred, a large number of children are also feared to have been lost. While a help line has been put in place in Mardan, and some NGOs have identified separated children and are trying to trace their parents, there is an evident need for a wider inter-camp coordination mechanism to reunite lost children with family members who have landed in other camps.
Furthermore, those working with the IDPs must realise that displaced people in general need not be treated as hapless victims as such treatment can further compound their sense of dislocation and undermine in-built resilience. It is quite possible to involve these people in taking varied responsibilities within the camps, which can in turn lessen the human resource burden of camp management, and facilitate the ultimate objective of rehabilitation.
Once some sort of a grip is taken over the current challenge, and hopefully as more areas are declared safe enough for the displaced to begin returning home, the existing disaster management policies and systems must be carefully revised to better deal with sudden displacements in the future.
By Robert Birsel, Reuters, May 19, 2009
Source
A Pakistani military offensive against Taliban militants in their Swat valley bastion has forced more than a million people from their homes, the government and the United Nations say.
A failure to respond to one of the most dramatic displacement crises in recent times could generate instability, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said at the weekend as he called for "massive support" from the international community.
Following are some facts about the displaced.
- The number of people displaced by the fighting has risen to more than 1.4 million, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Monday.
- They are joining about 555,000 displaced by earlier fighting in the northwest.
- Thousands of people remain in the valley and the head of the government's relief effort said authorities were trying to ensure regular food supplies for them.
- The United Nations says about 48 percent of the displaced are children and the country faces a long-term humanitarian crisis.
- The United Nations said 15 to 20 percent of the displaced who have registered with authorities, or about 250,000 people, are in some 24 camps. The rest are staying with friends, relatives, in rented accommodation or in "spontaneous settlements" that have sprung up.
- The U.N. refugee agency has opened stockpiles of supplies to help the displaced and has also airlifted in 120 tons of supplies including plastic sheets for shelters and mosquito nets.
- The U.N. World Food Program has mobilized its in-country stocks and is feeding 780,000 people.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has delivered 20 mini-emergency health kits, enough for 120,000 people for one month.
- A WHO spokesman in Geneva said late last week the health situation was not extremely serious but diseases were starting to take hold.
- The army, which played a major role in helping survivors of a big earthquake in 2005, is donating part of its rations to the relief effort, enough to feed about 80,000 adults a day.
- The United States has donated $4.9 million for basic supplies such as tents, blankets and cooking kits, while Britain had donated 10 million pounds ($15.19 million). France has promised 12 million euro ($8.8 million).
- Both the United Nations and the government are due to outline the needs and issue appeals for help this week.
------
Contending with displacements
By Syed Mohammad Ali, Daily Times, May 19, 2009
Source
Those working with the IDPs must realise that displaced people in general need not be treated as hapless victims as such treatment can further compound their sense of dislocation and undermine in-built resilience`
A steady stream of displacement has been unleashed by the military offensive against militants challenging the writ of the state in the Swat valley. This has occurred at a time when the NWFP government was already struggling to manage the displacements from the ongoing FATA conflict.
In fact, this latest wave of displacements is not confined to the Swat valley alone. People have been fleeing from the adjoining districts of Dir and Buner as well in order to escape the escalating violence. As a result, camps that had housed Afghan refugees for three decades have now become home to the multitudes displaced by the fighting in the NWFP itself.
It is important to realise though that the current displacements have not occurred due to an unforeseen natural disaster but instead are the obvious consequence of a premeditated military offensive. Many are thus criticising the relevant authorities for not being responsive enough to have prepared pre-emptive evacuation plans for the areas where military action was impending.
As a result of this lack of planning, civilians caught in the crossfire could not be provided adequate transport facilities to expediently transfer them to the safety of well-organised camps. Already distraught people have had to suffer unnecessary hardships due to haphazard displacement management.
Even the initial estimates of displacements to be caused by the ongoing conflict were grossly inaccurate. It was thought that no more than 100,000 to 200,000 people would leave their homes, but already over a million people have been dislodged, and every day, more people are leaving their homes and fleeing to safer locations.
Many displaced people are not heading to the camps. They are instead opting to be hosted by relatives in local communities spread across various districts. Had this not been the case, the already overstretched camp facilities for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) would have been stretched well beyond capacity. Instead of ignoring displaced people who are not residing in camps however, it is vital that they also be provided support, in the form of food vouchers for instance, to help lessen the burden on their hosts, many of whom are also not affluent people.
The formation of a new Support Group has been announced by the prime minister to contend with the IDP crisis, even though a National Disaster Management Authority had already been established, with UNDP support, after the 2005 earthquake. Despite the money spent on the NDMA, its ability to contend with conflict-evoked displacements was not considered adequate. Instead the Support Group was thus formed, which is to be headed by the former Deputy Chairman of the Emergency Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority.
The Support Group is tasked to work with the NWFP government, along with other senior representatives each from the interior, health, information, foreign affairs, cabinet and finance ministries. How this new entity will coordinate with the varied stakeholders to coordinate their efforts on-ground remains to be seen. What remains evident is the glaring need to better manage the present IDP crisis.
Besides the reported lack of electricity, food and medicines in different camps, stories about the delivery of unnecessary items like blankets amidst the rising temperatures have illustrated this need for more effective management. Numerous NGOs, donors and line departments are working on the ground, and the ability of the Support Group to quickly step in and manage all these different organisations for not only providing initial relief but also addressing the eventual rehabilitation needs of the IDPs will be the main challenge.
Clearly, the provincial government lacks sufficient resources and the initial allocation made by the federal government will also not be enough to provide the IDPs who have managed to flee to safety with a reasonable level of comfort. An international donor conference is planned to secure funds to support the IDPs, right after Pakistan has got done with trying to cajole its ‘friends’ to help overcome the lingering economic woes.
Organisations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent are trying to access people who were unable to flee the conflict, but the threat of attacks by militants on humanitarian workers makes this task quite a challenge.
It is also vital to realise here that women and children face unique pressures due to the displacement, which merit special attention. The lack of female medical attendants within the camps can unfortunately prevent women from conservative households from accessing available medical services. Camp life can be very difficult for women accustomed to strict segregation from men who are not family members. United Nations agencies have set up canvas walls around clusters of tents to give women more privacy.
Displaced women and children further face increased threats of sexual abuse and other forms of violence. Incidents of already victimised children, especially girls, being sold away after the October 2005 earthquake proved the actual danger of such instances, which provide human smugglers an opportunity to identify more victims. After the Balochistan earthquake however, a lesson had been learnt to lessen this hazard, which led to placing check-posts on major routes leading from the distraught areas to curb human smuggling.
A national conference was organised last year in Islamabad particularly to highlight the impact of displacements on children in view of the NWFP and Balochistan earthquakes, and the flood in Sindh. It would be useful for practitioners and line departments working with the IDPs to take a closer look at these findings and try to create not only makeshift schools, but also safe play areas, and put in place community-led child protection mechanisms within IDP camps themselves to prevent abuse or abduction of children.
Moreover, given the rush and chaos in which displacements initially occurred, a large number of children are also feared to have been lost. While a help line has been put in place in Mardan, and some NGOs have identified separated children and are trying to trace their parents, there is an evident need for a wider inter-camp coordination mechanism to reunite lost children with family members who have landed in other camps.
Furthermore, those working with the IDPs must realise that displaced people in general need not be treated as hapless victims as such treatment can further compound their sense of dislocation and undermine in-built resilience. It is quite possible to involve these people in taking varied responsibilities within the camps, which can in turn lessen the human resource burden of camp management, and facilitate the ultimate objective of rehabilitation.
Once some sort of a grip is taken over the current challenge, and hopefully as more areas are declared safe enough for the displaced to begin returning home, the existing disaster management policies and systems must be carefully revised to better deal with sudden displacements in the future.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tense Conditions in Karachi
On ethnic tensions in Karachi in the context of political developments on the national level, see previous IS posts: here and here
The dynamics of May 12 and the politics of Karachi
By Hussain Dada, The News, May 12, 2009
Source
Steps taken to maintain law and order on May 12
Dawn, May 12, 2009
Source
Karachi getting out of hand?
DailyTimes Editorial, May 12, 2009
Source
Excerpt:
All the three secular parties ruling Sindh have fallen apart. The MQM and the ANP have inclined to ethnic politics, the latter only recently showing inclination to represent all the 4 million Karachi Pashtuns floundering without political leadership because the JUI is almost non-existent there and the Deobandi madrassas are under pressure. The Pashtun is also pushed into a corner by the rise of the Barelvi clergy, which is increasingly militant and shows an anti-Pashtun ethnic bias like the MQM. While opposed to the Taliban in the rest of Pakistan, it is not oblivious of the prospect of a grand weaning of the radicalised Pashtun back under the ethnic banner.
The PPP has memories too, which obstruct a fair assessment of the situation. It has clashed with both the ethnic parties in the past and is sceptical of their modus operandi vis-à-vis the communities they claim to represent. There is no doubt that it has reports from the police about the infiltration of “Taliban-type” Pashtuns into the city. There have been encounters in the Pashtun-dominated areas where such elements have been arrested too. But, based on their perception of the role of the MQM, the Sindh government is not willing to take the kind of action that the MQM wants it to take. Pashtun and Muhajir ethnic gangs are clashing in the night in Karachi, leaving a lot of people dead.
More confusion is going to follow when Imran Khan is finished with Karachi and the Jama’at-e Islami chief Syed Munawwar Hassan turns his attention to the divided city. He and Mr Khan are in unison against the military operation in Swat, saying the army is killing its own people at America’s behest. The two have the capacity to attract Pashtuns, especially on the basis of their pro-Taliban slogan. Mr Hassan, while talking to Jama’at processionists in Lahore the other day, asked them to “make preparations” because an “announcement for jihad may be made during the coming days”. Karachi may therefore become a “suitable” place for this jihad because the ruling triad is in disarray there.
The Muhajir-Sindhi divide has slid into the background and a Muhajir-Pashtun divide has come to the fore, in no small measure helped by the FATA diaspora into Karachi because of the civil war-like conditions there. As the army goes after the Taliban in the Malakand region more Pashtuns will trickle down to Karachi. The instinct of the ANP as an ethnic party is to give them a political safety net, only at the cost of sharpening its contradiction with the MQM whose electoral strength in Karachi is overwhelming — a fact that both ANP and PPP must pay proper heed to.
The dynamics of May 12 and the politics of Karachi
By Hussain Dada, The News, May 12, 2009
Source
Steps taken to maintain law and order on May 12
Dawn, May 12, 2009
Source
Karachi getting out of hand?
DailyTimes Editorial, May 12, 2009
Source
Excerpt:
All the three secular parties ruling Sindh have fallen apart. The MQM and the ANP have inclined to ethnic politics, the latter only recently showing inclination to represent all the 4 million Karachi Pashtuns floundering without political leadership because the JUI is almost non-existent there and the Deobandi madrassas are under pressure. The Pashtun is also pushed into a corner by the rise of the Barelvi clergy, which is increasingly militant and shows an anti-Pashtun ethnic bias like the MQM. While opposed to the Taliban in the rest of Pakistan, it is not oblivious of the prospect of a grand weaning of the radicalised Pashtun back under the ethnic banner.
The PPP has memories too, which obstruct a fair assessment of the situation. It has clashed with both the ethnic parties in the past and is sceptical of their modus operandi vis-à-vis the communities they claim to represent. There is no doubt that it has reports from the police about the infiltration of “Taliban-type” Pashtuns into the city. There have been encounters in the Pashtun-dominated areas where such elements have been arrested too. But, based on their perception of the role of the MQM, the Sindh government is not willing to take the kind of action that the MQM wants it to take. Pashtun and Muhajir ethnic gangs are clashing in the night in Karachi, leaving a lot of people dead.
More confusion is going to follow when Imran Khan is finished with Karachi and the Jama’at-e Islami chief Syed Munawwar Hassan turns his attention to the divided city. He and Mr Khan are in unison against the military operation in Swat, saying the army is killing its own people at America’s behest. The two have the capacity to attract Pashtuns, especially on the basis of their pro-Taliban slogan. Mr Hassan, while talking to Jama’at processionists in Lahore the other day, asked them to “make preparations” because an “announcement for jihad may be made during the coming days”. Karachi may therefore become a “suitable” place for this jihad because the ruling triad is in disarray there.
The Muhajir-Sindhi divide has slid into the background and a Muhajir-Pashtun divide has come to the fore, in no small measure helped by the FATA diaspora into Karachi because of the civil war-like conditions there. As the army goes after the Taliban in the Malakand region more Pashtuns will trickle down to Karachi. The instinct of the ANP as an ethnic party is to give them a political safety net, only at the cost of sharpening its contradiction with the MQM whose electoral strength in Karachi is overwhelming — a fact that both ANP and PPP must pay proper heed to.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
The Refugee Crisis in Pakistan
Another 200,000 have fled Swat fighting, says UNHCR
By Sajid Gondal, Dawn, May 09, 2009
Source
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday that people in large numbers had fled their homes because of widespread clashes between government forces and militants.
The UN agency said in a statement the people were taking advantage of a partial lifting of curfew to move to safe areas.
The UNHCR estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 people had arrived in safe areas of the NWFP over the last few days with another 300,000 on the move or about to move.
Those fleeing the latest escalation of hostilities in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat join another 555,000 had left their homes in Fata and the NWFP since August last year and were registered by the UN agency.
The vast majority of the earlier arrivals, more than 462,000, have been staying in rented accommodation or with families.
It said that another 93,000 were staying in 11 camps supported by the agency, other UN humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organisations and the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
-----
Refugees flee Pakistani Swat region - NoCommentTV
On a related note - given that Pakistan and Afghanistan are now handled together as one unit, the "Af-Pak", in Barack Obama's war:
Scores dead after US strike in Afghanistan - 06 May 09 - AlJazeera
By Sajid Gondal, Dawn, May 09, 2009
Source
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday that people in large numbers had fled their homes because of widespread clashes between government forces and militants.
The UN agency said in a statement the people were taking advantage of a partial lifting of curfew to move to safe areas.
The UNHCR estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 people had arrived in safe areas of the NWFP over the last few days with another 300,000 on the move or about to move.
Those fleeing the latest escalation of hostilities in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat join another 555,000 had left their homes in Fata and the NWFP since August last year and were registered by the UN agency.
The vast majority of the earlier arrivals, more than 462,000, have been staying in rented accommodation or with families.
It said that another 93,000 were staying in 11 camps supported by the agency, other UN humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organisations and the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
-----
Refugees flee Pakistani Swat region - NoCommentTV
On a related note - given that Pakistan and Afghanistan are now handled together as one unit, the "Af-Pak", in Barack Obama's war:
Scores dead after US strike in Afghanistan - 06 May 09 - AlJazeera
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
On Bhakkar Suicide Bombing and Beyond
That a Shia politician was attacked in the case of Bhakkar suicide bombing is quite obvious. More than twenty five innocent people - Shias and Sunnis - were killed in the tragic incident. The apparent target, PML-N MP Rashid Akbar Niwani, survived but suffered leg injuries. However, the incident should be seen in connection to another suicide bombing that recently targeted the ANP leader, Asfandyar Wali Khan, in Charsadda. What should be obvious is that the logic of the Bhakkar attack is more than just "sectarian". It is not simply a particular community that is the target here (by extremists supposedly motivated by irrational sectarian prejudice); it is the state that is the actual target and the attacks are being carried out in a very systematic and calculated manner. What we are seeing is not a "Sunni vs. Shia" conflict per se. In fact, most Pakistanis, Sunnis and Shias alike, are against sectarian violence and terrorism. The logic of the current wave of violence is primarily 'political,' which explains the timing, targets, and objectives of these attacks.
What is the 'state' here? Could be many things. The civilian government is but one of its various composing elements. These various elements need not necessarily be targeted by outside forces; different elements within the state could also use violence to undermine others. Perpetrating ethnic and sectarian violence, unfortunately, is a convenient tool for instigating fear and destabilizing governments and political opponents.
The Possible Parties in the recent wave of violence: Various strands of Taliban (recently on news channels in Pakistan, some pundits, mostly attached to the establishment, are trying to make a distinction of 'good' vs. 'bad' Taliban - 'good' are those that fight inside Afghanistan against the US, 'bad' are those that fight inside Pakistan); rogue elements within the ISI and their supported extremist/sectarian groups all over Pakistan; local ethnic and/or separatist groups; the civilian government; the military establishment; the regional and global powers and their intelligence agencies.
Possible targets: The civilian government; the military establishment and the ISI; and/or the political process/stability in Pakistan.
Possible objectives: Reaction to Pakistani and US military incursions, particularly in Fata; undermine and dissolve the US-supported Zardari's civilian government; fomenting controlled chaos to justify US military presence in the region; the nuclear assets; and/or destabilization of Pakistan.
Wallahu Alam!
--------------------------------
Editorial: Sectarian killers enter Punjab
DailyTimes, October 8, 2008
Source
A PMLN member of the National Assembly, Mr Rashid Akbar Niwani, was recently attacked by a suicide-bomber in the Punjab city of Bhakkar, killing 25 of his guests and injuring him. He was targetted because he is a Shia and no one is in doubt about the sectarian nature of the attack. It is safe to say that the attack has been mounted by a sectarian organisation. Neither is it a secret that most such organisations are fighting Al Qaeda’s war in Pakistan along with some other hardline Deobandi militias. The footprint of the Taliban is clearly visible there.
Bhakkar has seen only some sectarian mayhem but came in the cross-hairs of the killers since its nextdoor city of Dera Ismail Khan in the NWFP became the scene of Shia slaughter recently. Mr Niwani’s brother says the family had received threats but the government could do very little to save them. Yet the Shia of Bhakkar were worried after the DI Khan hospital suicide blast in September and feared that the storm would come their way in Punjab. The Friday Times of September 12, 2008, writing about the government’s neglect of the sectarian stand-off in Kurram Agency and the subsequent follow-up attacks in DI Khan, had written, “The Shia of nextdoor Bhakkar are scared because they are influential in the city and can be targeted”.
Mr Rashid Niwani was one MNA who had spoken out in parliament several times against the growing sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias. Therefore one must say with sadness that our politicians are more involved in squabbling over the spoils of office than they are concerned with sectarian violence which is very much connected with the presence of Al Qaeda in Pakistan and enjoys the support of some erstwhile state-supported jihadi militias who kill Shias as an article of faith. The conversion of Al Qaeda into an avowedly sectarian outfit happened in 2006 when it supported the anti-Shia massacres executed by its leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq.
The roots of Al Qaeda’s sectarianism go into the past as well and can be dated with the firming of its contacts with the Taliban government of Mullah Umar and the training of Pakistani jihadis in its camps. When Sipah Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi went on the rampage and used Afghanistan as their safe haven, Pakistan’s requests for the extradition of the sectarian killers were turned down by Mullah Umar with the backing of Al Qaeda. It is sad that despite this, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies went on supporting the Taliban government. What is even more worrisome is that after the death of the sectarian killer Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq in 2006, the jihadi militias were allowed to hold his public funeral in absentia in Lahore.
The state has apparently classified sectarian killings as a low priority threat to itself and doesn’t see it as an extension of Al Qaeda’s terrorism in the country. Under General Pervez Musharraf, the Northern Areas kept smouldering for nearly three years with little reporting and even less preventive action by the government. This year we have seen the siege of Kurram Agency, the culturally most developed tribal agency in the country and fit for integration into the settled territory together with Bajaur. The last time the Shia of Kurram suffered a massacre at the hands of Taliban-supported killers, the interior advisor, Mr Rehman Malik, gave the killers an ultimatum of 72 hours. Now it is weeks and no action has been taken.
Nor are the politicians overly concerned. The infighting among the political allies is unrelenting and new alignments are being predicted amid great instability. The opposition that is today going into the in-camera briefing of parliament on the war in the Tribal Areas is openly saying it will be of no use. After having demanded an airing of the issue in parliament they are already predicting that it would fail to convince them to change their critical view of the military action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The extra-parliamentary Jama’at-e Islami is out on the streets, leading a march opposing the war because it thinks it is America’s war. The lawyers are making furious preparations for their next “decisive” rally in Islamabad on November 3, 2008. None of this is going to help reduce Pakistan’s instability and curb the killing of Shias in the country.
The ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, who narrowly escaped death at the hands of a suicide-bomber in Charsadda, wants to know if the state is willing to change its policy after the change of guard in the ISI. A front-page report in a newspaper on Tuesday quoted the ANP leader as saying: “All we want to know is whether these changes are for real or it is just a change of faces”. Who is going to answer him?
What is the 'state' here? Could be many things. The civilian government is but one of its various composing elements. These various elements need not necessarily be targeted by outside forces; different elements within the state could also use violence to undermine others. Perpetrating ethnic and sectarian violence, unfortunately, is a convenient tool for instigating fear and destabilizing governments and political opponents.
The Possible Parties in the recent wave of violence: Various strands of Taliban (recently on news channels in Pakistan, some pundits, mostly attached to the establishment, are trying to make a distinction of 'good' vs. 'bad' Taliban - 'good' are those that fight inside Afghanistan against the US, 'bad' are those that fight inside Pakistan); rogue elements within the ISI and their supported extremist/sectarian groups all over Pakistan; local ethnic and/or separatist groups; the civilian government; the military establishment; the regional and global powers and their intelligence agencies.
Possible targets: The civilian government; the military establishment and the ISI; and/or the political process/stability in Pakistan.
Possible objectives: Reaction to Pakistani and US military incursions, particularly in Fata; undermine and dissolve the US-supported Zardari's civilian government; fomenting controlled chaos to justify US military presence in the region; the nuclear assets; and/or destabilization of Pakistan.
Wallahu Alam!
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Editorial: Sectarian killers enter Punjab
DailyTimes, October 8, 2008
Source
A PMLN member of the National Assembly, Mr Rashid Akbar Niwani, was recently attacked by a suicide-bomber in the Punjab city of Bhakkar, killing 25 of his guests and injuring him. He was targetted because he is a Shia and no one is in doubt about the sectarian nature of the attack. It is safe to say that the attack has been mounted by a sectarian organisation. Neither is it a secret that most such organisations are fighting Al Qaeda’s war in Pakistan along with some other hardline Deobandi militias. The footprint of the Taliban is clearly visible there.
Bhakkar has seen only some sectarian mayhem but came in the cross-hairs of the killers since its nextdoor city of Dera Ismail Khan in the NWFP became the scene of Shia slaughter recently. Mr Niwani’s brother says the family had received threats but the government could do very little to save them. Yet the Shia of Bhakkar were worried after the DI Khan hospital suicide blast in September and feared that the storm would come their way in Punjab. The Friday Times of September 12, 2008, writing about the government’s neglect of the sectarian stand-off in Kurram Agency and the subsequent follow-up attacks in DI Khan, had written, “The Shia of nextdoor Bhakkar are scared because they are influential in the city and can be targeted”.
Mr Rashid Niwani was one MNA who had spoken out in parliament several times against the growing sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias. Therefore one must say with sadness that our politicians are more involved in squabbling over the spoils of office than they are concerned with sectarian violence which is very much connected with the presence of Al Qaeda in Pakistan and enjoys the support of some erstwhile state-supported jihadi militias who kill Shias as an article of faith. The conversion of Al Qaeda into an avowedly sectarian outfit happened in 2006 when it supported the anti-Shia massacres executed by its leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq.
The roots of Al Qaeda’s sectarianism go into the past as well and can be dated with the firming of its contacts with the Taliban government of Mullah Umar and the training of Pakistani jihadis in its camps. When Sipah Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi went on the rampage and used Afghanistan as their safe haven, Pakistan’s requests for the extradition of the sectarian killers were turned down by Mullah Umar with the backing of Al Qaeda. It is sad that despite this, Pakistan’s intelligence agencies went on supporting the Taliban government. What is even more worrisome is that after the death of the sectarian killer Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq in 2006, the jihadi militias were allowed to hold his public funeral in absentia in Lahore.
The state has apparently classified sectarian killings as a low priority threat to itself and doesn’t see it as an extension of Al Qaeda’s terrorism in the country. Under General Pervez Musharraf, the Northern Areas kept smouldering for nearly three years with little reporting and even less preventive action by the government. This year we have seen the siege of Kurram Agency, the culturally most developed tribal agency in the country and fit for integration into the settled territory together with Bajaur. The last time the Shia of Kurram suffered a massacre at the hands of Taliban-supported killers, the interior advisor, Mr Rehman Malik, gave the killers an ultimatum of 72 hours. Now it is weeks and no action has been taken.
Nor are the politicians overly concerned. The infighting among the political allies is unrelenting and new alignments are being predicted amid great instability. The opposition that is today going into the in-camera briefing of parliament on the war in the Tribal Areas is openly saying it will be of no use. After having demanded an airing of the issue in parliament they are already predicting that it would fail to convince them to change their critical view of the military action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The extra-parliamentary Jama’at-e Islami is out on the streets, leading a march opposing the war because it thinks it is America’s war. The lawyers are making furious preparations for their next “decisive” rally in Islamabad on November 3, 2008. None of this is going to help reduce Pakistan’s instability and curb the killing of Shias in the country.
The ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, who narrowly escaped death at the hands of a suicide-bomber in Charsadda, wants to know if the state is willing to change its policy after the change of guard in the ISI. A front-page report in a newspaper on Tuesday quoted the ANP leader as saying: “All we want to know is whether these changes are for real or it is just a change of faces”. Who is going to answer him?
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