Displaced people still streaming out of Pakistan conflict zone – UN

Clashes between Government forces and militants in north-west Pakistan are continuing to uproot people from their homes, with nearly 130,000 people being registered daily as displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The agency said today that provincial government authorities have noted that the number of uprooted from the Swat, Lower Dir and Buner districts registered in a fast-track process since 2 May has now reached almost 2.4 million people. However, UNHCR cautioned that these figures are being verified and could change.

Currently, the federal Government and provincial authorities are discussing how to provide further aid to internally displaced persons (IDPs) beyond the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters.

“Many people are still reportedly stranded in the conflict zones,” he said, adding that the curfew in effect in the area is lifted for only several hours, with roads becoming quickly congested with people rushing to escape the area.

The fare for a bus ride from Mingora, in Swat District, to Mardan town to the south has tripled from 2,000 rupees, or $24, to 6,000 rupees, or $74, according to those who have fled.

Mr. Redmond said that his agency is working with the Government to build separate shaded communal areas for men and women in several camps to provide access to cool areas. In sectors where there is electricity, these spaces have electric water coolers and fans, among other items.

Along with its partner agencies, UNHCR has begun distributing bricks to families to build individual kitchen stoves – to allow them to cook their own meals with rations from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) – in some camps. Until now, they had been eating cooked meals distributed by the Government.

“At the same time, UNHCR continues to witness many acts of generosity from the Pakistani community towards their fellow citizens,” Mr. Redmond said, noting that one private donor contributed food packages for over 2,000 people in Jalozai camp, which now houses a further 50,000 newly displaced people since 2 May.

Meanwhile, others are donating food, clothes and mattresses to thousands of families taking refuge in schools, he said. One woman who now lives in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, but is originally from Mardan, travels every weekend to her hometown to bring cash, clothes and tea she collects from her friends to give to the displaced people, Mr. Redmond reported.

UNHCR is also boosting assistance to people living in schools in Mardan and Swabi districts, and is also planning to help the many uprooted people sheltering with relatives, friends or in rental accommodations.

Over the weekend, 36 tons of relief supplies – tents, plastic rolls, kitchen sets, jerry cans, soap, generators, water tanks and purification equipment – were airlifted to Islamabad by the Italian Government and donated to UNHCR.

Additionally, a UNHCR relief bank in Nowshera has been receiving in-kind donations, such as sleeping mats and water coolers, from private donors.

Mr. Redmond said that the agency is continuing to purchase more supplies within Pakistan and to ship items from its stockpiles around the world, but underscored that it “urgently needs funds to accelerate the purchase of relief supplies for its operation.”

Last Friday, the UN and its partners launched a $543 million appeal to help the nearly 2 million people who have escaped the violence in NWFP.

In a statement, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern that “Pakistan is currently witnessing rapid displacement on a massive scale.”