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Ghazan Jamal Published March 5, 2025
ABOUT 22 per cent of Pakistanis live below the national poverty line, with estimates jumping to 40pc if we consider the global lower-middle-income poverty rate. Similarly, 40pc of Pakistan suffers from multidimensional poverty. There are about 25 million out-of-school children, while 40pc of children under the age of five in Pakistan are stunted. In the smaller provinces, these numbers are far worse. This article’s title could be referring to any of these millions of impoverished Pakistanis, and as a nation we ought to be doing better to help them. However, while these people suffer because of the state’s neglect, there is another group, the internally displaced persons belonging to the merged areas, whose suffering is a direct consequence of state action. The IDPs’ continuing struggle for their rights also highlights the state’s indifference.
At the height of the conflict in 2014, about 2m people had been displaced from their homes in Fata (now the merged areas). Over the course of the last two decades, people from all seven districts of the merged areas have been IDPs at some point. In total, as per official government data, about 4.5m people from the merged areas became IDPs. Given the 2017 Pakistan census numbers of 5m people in the merged areas, that’s 90pc of the total population of the area. While some tribes were only temporarily displaced, there are those that, after more than a decade since being forced to leave their homes, are still unable to go back. Although official records show that most of these IDPs have now returned to their areas, with about 18,000 families still displaced, the reality on the ground is different.
There are broadly three reasons why the repatriation hasn’t happened. First, IDPs who settled in more developed parts of Pakistan became accustomed to better basic services, like more than four hours of electricity a day, running tap water, access to functioning health and education systems, and job opportunities. With such basic necessities still very much a luxury in the merged areas, some have decided not to return. Second, there are areas where in official government documents the return process has taken place and IDPs are ‘free’ to go back, but in actuality these areas are still cordoned off by check posts and there is very restricted movement allowed, if at all. Places like Mamozai in Orakzai and many villages of the Mehsud belt in South Wazirsitan fall in this category. However, the majority of IDPs not returning to their homes fall into a third category: those who are unable to return due to the massive level of destruction.
As part of the anti-militancy drive, there were large parts of the merged areas where homes, businesses, bazaars, schools, hospitals, the road network, electricity, and drinking water supply infrastructure were completely destroyed. This includes most parts of the South and North Waziristan districts, the upper tehsil of district Orakzai, Tirah region in district Khyber, and large parts of the central tehsil in district Kurram. When the tribes here were made to leave their homes, they did so with two promises made to them. First, that this would be a temporary dislocation during which they would be looked after as IDPs by the government. Second, that their hometowns would be cleared of all militants and rebuilt so that they could return home to continue living their lives safely.
In actuality, as IDPs, there has been very little support from the state, except for perhaps the ultra poor who were forced to live in refugee camps. As for the length of stay, for all practical purposes, many still live as IDPs. The rehabilitation and reconstruction process has been a story of even more despair. The government decided on a meagre rate of Rs400,000 for fully demolished homes and Rs160,000 for partially damaged homes. Contrary to popular belief based on experiences in villages in the rest of Pakistan, homes in the tribal areas are more like compounds, with living spaces for multiple families and thick walls for protection, rather than simple mud houses. The amount allocated for reconstruction for these homes by the government isn’t even enough to clear out the debris, let alone reconstruct those homes. Even so, many people are still waiting to receive their compensation money; their wait might have become indefinite with the government closing the programme in the 2022-2023 budget.
Although the reconstruction of schools, hospitals, and road infrastructure began with good speed, similar to housing compensation, funding for that has also dried up since 2022, with many buildings still lying in ruins. An amount of Rs17 billion was allocated in the budget under the heading of TDP (temporarily displaced persons) support, which was used for rehabilitation and reconstruction, but this line has been removed from the budget. It has been estimated that an additional Rs60bn will be needed to complete the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. For markets and businesses, except for a couple of towns in North Waziristan, it appears that residents of no other district have been compensated for the businesses and markets they lost.
Humanitarian motivations should be enough for mainstream Pakistan to care about the continued plight of IDPs, but that has seldom been enough for governments to take action. So let me make a more egocentric argument for why the government and mainstream Pakistanis should be concerned. Militancy is again on the rise. With the deep sense of betrayal felt by merged area locals towards the state, they may not be willing to relocate this time, given their previous experiences. This will make fighting militancy a lot costlier and riskier. The reality is, militant groups have proven themselves adept at exploiting local frustrations and government neglect to entrench themselves in these areas. If militants are able to make inroads in this region, it will spread to the rest of Pakistan, like the last time.
The writer is a development practitioner and a former parliamentarian.
X: @GhaziGJ
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025
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DAWN EDITORIAL: 05 March 2025
AS the country continues to face a multifaceted terrorism threat, the state has yet to come up with a matching response, even as we continue to lose a high number of security men and civilians to terrorist attacks.
Figures released for February by the PICSS think tank point to the grim reality we face: over 100 lives were lost to terrorism last month, with civilian fatalities (55) overtaking those of security personnel (47). In keeping with earlier trends, the violence has been concentrated in KP and Balochistan, with religiously inspired militants such as the banned TTP, as well as Baloch separatists, spearheading the violent campaigns.
Even in the current month, the past few days have seen numerous incidents of bloodletting. The latest incident occurred on Tuesday, when suicide bombers reportedly struck Bannu Cantonment. Earlier, an FC man was martyred on Monday when a woman suicide bomber, apparently belonging to the banned BLA, carried out an attack near Kalat. Four security men were similarly martyred in firefights with terrorists in North Waziristan. Meanwhile, the deadly bombing of the Haqqania madressah last week — believed to be the handiwork of IS — shows that other militant actors, too, feel confident enough to stage fresh attacks.
Many of these acts of terrorism have been carried out in regions bordering Afghanistan, where the Taliban rulers are hostile to some terrorist groups, such as IS, yet maintain cordial ties with others, such as the TTP. Therefore, Pakistan has few options but to cooperate on the counterterrorism issue with Kabul. But bilateral ties are going through a particularly low phase, with the Torkham border closed since Feb 21, after the Afghan side reportedly started construction in a disputed area. Things have worsened since then as both sides exchanged fire, involving the use of heavy weapons, on Sunday. The fact is that while Pakistan is right in blaming the Afghan Taliban for doing little to curb cross-border terrorism, if ties deteriorate further, it will negatively affect CT cooperation.
The presence of IS in both countries should serve as a point of unity for Islamabad and Kabul. Both sides confront a bloodthirsty foe, and the only way to defeat it is to work together. Having said that, Kabul cannot rage against the ‘bad’ IS terrorists, and feign ignorance about the malign activities of the ‘good’ TTP terrorists. Action must be taken across the board, and all terrorist groups that threaten Pakistan should be dealt with by Kabul.
On the other hand, the state here must go beyond rhetoric and implement a CT strategy that can deliver lasting results. Over 1,600 security men and civilians lost their lives in terrorist attacks in 2024. This blood-soaked trend must be arrested through an effective CT campaign.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025
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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the person responsible for killing 13 US service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 had been arrested with the help of Pakistan and was now on his way to the United States to face justice.
The 2021 Abbey Gate bombing killed 13 US service members and approximately 170 Afghan civilians during the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The militant Islamic State (IS) group had claimed responsibility for the killings.
Trump shared the news in his first address to Congress since returning to the White House for a second term. While he gave no further details, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a post on X, identified the held terrorist as Sharifullah, a “top tier operational commander” of the militant IS-KP chapter.
“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,” the US president told the Congress. READ MORE
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