While people frequently dilate on the economic costs of war against militancy, what tends to be forgotten are the social losses incurred by Pakistani society. The economic costs are easier to calculate. As President Zardari told Richard Holbrooke on his last visit to Islamabad, the war has cost Pakistan $35 billion over the last eight years.
It has badly harmed country's industrial growth prospects and export potential. In a nutshell, it has paralysed Pakistan economy. It is, however, much more difficult to quantify the social havoc that has been wrought in the country by the conflict. The tussle has led to the dislocation of entire communities.
In Swat, nearly two million people were forced to leave their hearths and homes and live in tents in the neighbouring districts of NWFP under high summer temperatures that they were not used to. In South Waziristan, their numbers were much less, but, here too, the tribesmen will undergo hardship that will cause anxiety and suffering.
The dislocation at such a large scale is a highly discomforting experience. Many displaced persons had to travel long distances, often on foot, to reach the camps for the IDPs. In Swat, educational institutions remained closed for nearly a year. One can imagine the loss of a full educational year for the students. The tribulations of the affected families have yet not ended. Many who returned found their houses destroyed and they have no resources to rebuild them.
In many cases, people have lost their means of livelihood. Orchards, standing crops and private businesses have been destroyed as a result of rocket fire, artillery bombing and anti-personnel mines laid by the militants. Years of hard work and sacrifice have been lost in a few months. The affected persons have to restart their economic activities from scratch.
Suffering, as it is, from the financial crunch, the government has little to offer them. Donors like the Friends of Democratic Pakistan have extended funds that are grossly insufficient. It will take years to build up the communities that have lost all their earthly possessions. Thousands of families in the tribal areas, and the rest of the country, have lost the single, male breadwinner they had and are left with nobody to look after them.
Besides providing the family food and shelter, the earning member often played the role of the head of the family. The children looked up to him, as a mentor, who they hoped would guide them to a better future. They are left with no one to provide them sustenance or bring them up. For parents, the loss of children is a deep emotional shock that they would have to learn to live with for the rest of their lives.
With the death of their children, many parents have lost their dreams and what they considered to be their investment in the future. Statistics do tell us about the number of people suicide attacks have claimed so far. What is not seriously calculated is the number of those who lost their limbs and would remain incapacitated for the rest of their lives, turning from an asset to a liability for their families and society at large.
Some individuals, who died, played vital roles in their villages and small towns as local leaders, arbitrators of disputes and men whose wisdom benefited the communities in multifarious ways. Their death is much more than a single digit casualty figure. It has an overall profound impact on the community's well being and development that is hard to compute.
Terrorist attacks have traumatised the whole nation. The psychological impact of bomb blasts and the killing of relatives and friends leaves a deep imprint, particularly on children's minds, which they will carry with them for years to come. The incidents cause physical, emotional disruptions, commonly referred to as post-traumatic stress disorder and its treatment, often spread over years, is highly costly. Pakistan can ill afford such a situation.
In the case of the US, which has conducted wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, the problem involves only a few thousand veterans. In our case, those affected include both civilians and military personnel. Unless treated properly, thousands of people with personality disorders, developed during the ongoing war on militancy, will continue to pose a threat to themselves, their families and the rest of society. Unless there is widespread awareness about the problem, this could pose a danger to society.