Internews/Mardan
A large number of freshly arrived displaced persons from Pakistan’s once-scenic Swat valley, including women and children, have to stay on roadsides and in the fields here thanks to suspension of the registration process, a report said yesterday.
Dozens of families are staying outside the two major camps in Mardan — Sheikh Shehzad Town and Sheikh Yaseen Town — situated on the Mardan-Charssada Road in the hope that they would be provided shelter there by the administration.
Similarly, groups of other unregistered IDPs could be seen at various places in other parts of the city. An official of the Emergency Response Unit said that registration process would resume on June 18. The area near the entrances of the said two camps is a sad sight as scores of worn out people, majority of whom are women and children, are sitting on the roadsides or in the adjacent fields waiting for relief.
Almost all of these people have arrived here after a dreadful journey as they had to trudge unfrequented paths through forests and hills. Some of them showed their feet which were blistered due to the arduous and long journey.
Some exhausted women sitting in the nearby fields with their children said they stayed there throughout the day and their male family members went to other places in search of shelter.
“I have been here with my family for the last two days. We are without food and have to stay in the fields at night,” said Mohamed Khan, who fled his home at Kabal area.
He said they left their residence in haste as jetfighters were bombing the adjacent areas. “We don’t know where to go now. Someone told us to go to Charssada camp but from there we have to come back as registration was closed in the camp,” he added.
Most of them were critical of the government and the security forces. They said the most difficult part of their journey was to conceal themselves from the security personnel as they had been firing at every moving object.
“I don’t know whether this operation is against the militants or against ordinary people,” said Abdul Hameed, hailing from Charbagh area. He added they were forced to flee their areas due to persistent curfew, strafing and bombings by helicopter gunships and fighters.
Another displaced person from the Bahrain area, Ghulam Mohamed, said his children and other family members had been starving as they had no food to eat. He added they were provided some loaves of bread by the administration following which they were without food.
He said some of them had tried to enter Sheikh Shehzad camp but the policemen on duty there did not let them in as they were not registered.
An old man from Mingora said that his wife was asthmatic and he had no money to buy medicines and inhaler for her.
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