Camps to be set up at border areas for IDPs settlement: Sindh government resolves issue

24 May, 2009

Sindh government has finally resolved settlement issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and decided to provide relief to the victims of military operation in Swat and NWFP, by setting up camps at border areas. Sindh home department has identified places at bordering areas where the camps would be established.
However, the department is facing tough resistance from some political forces due to which it did not disclose the locations of the proposed camps, an official source at the provincial home ministry told Business Recorder on Saturday.
The department had decided to set up a camp at Deh Halkati in the limits of Manghopir police station but some political forces created law and order situation in the city on Friday to show their opposition and forced the government to reverse its decision, sources said, adding that to settle the dispute the department has suggested setting up camps at bordering areas of the metropolis.
Sources said that the department has also written a letter to Sindh Health Secretary for providing medical facilities to the crisis-hit displaced persons. "The authorities in the provincial health department have assured full co-operation and vowed to deploy paramedic force at the camps to check diarrhoea and other seasonal diseases."
Sources said that the department has put intelligence agencies on high alert to keep a vigil on the movement of those arriving here from the troubled areas of Swat and NWFP. "The only problem, which the department faces is the settlement of IDPs. The issue of IDPs transparent registration would also be resolved soon," sources said.
They said to make registration process transparent, the department has unveiled criteria to sort out suspected militants from migrating families. "The department has also constituted a committee of focal persons to monitor the whole situation," they added. They said the committee members include SSP Special Branch Kamran, SP Gadap Town Rao Anwar and Deputy Secretary Home Muhammad Shafique.
"The committee has also been directed to submit progress report to the department on daily basis for analysing its functions," they said. Sindh home department has issued instructions to the SHOs of all police stations to submit a weekly report to develop a statistical sheet of the IDPs who got shelter in their relatives' homes in the jurisdictions of their respective police stations, sources added.

Read Comments