The fallout of operation Zarb-e-Azb saw a large number of people being displaced from various agencies of FATA taking refuge in camps and other areas of the country. Over 300,000 families were displaced from their areas as a result of the operation. 190,000 families have returned to their areas so far. Those still languishing in camps and other places face enormous difficulties.
A sizable number of families however went to Afghanistan. Government of Pakistan launched a registration drive to repatriate such families in a dignified way. Around 24,000 NADRA verified families were repatriated as a result.
However, there are still many left in the neighboring country who couldn’t register themselves for one reason or the other even though the registration process was open for around 8 months .
According to government policy such unregistered TDPs (temporary displaced persons) are not entitled to receive the transport and return cash grants which are 10,000 and 25,000 PKR respectively.
The transport and return cash grants are only given to registered and NADRA verified TDP families upon voluntary return after their particular area is cleared for return by Pakistan Army. Additionally, each family gets food ration for six months after return.
However, not every family gets registered in time. There are various reasons for it but the major one is lack of information and guidance to know their rights.
The total number of displaced families registered from North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Kurram and Orakzai were around 324,965, however, only 244,353 families could be verified through NADRA.
While many of those not verified by NADRA were duplicate registrations, or one or more of their family members had already been registered, a sizable number of people couldn’t be verified because they were simply not registered with NADRA database.
Despite going through all the hardships, such non-verified TDPs neither get monthly stipend during their time of displacement nor do they get the return and transport cash grants.
So far, our of the 324,965 registered families, 191,235 have returned back to their areas in the four agencies. However, 63,706 of the returned were unregistered, and 44,465 were the ones who spontaneously returned to their areas without government consent.
The spontaneous return of all, is of most concern since these are the ones who were verified in the database and eligible for all cash grants and assistance but they returned to their areas on their own without formally registering with the government bodies, they don’t get any type of assistance.
UNHCR is working closely with government of Pakistan to fill this gap by facilitating TDPs during their time of displacement, assist them during registration process and ensure their dignified return back home.
Their funded project, that is executed by FATA Disaster Management Authority, has hired one Repatriation Officer for each of the four agencies to help assist TDPs, inform and educate them about their rights, document and resolve their grievances, and to ensure their voluntary return back home in a dignified way.
Each Repatriation Officer is assisted by two Assistants to ensure smooth working of the process for TDPs.
During the months of July to September, 16,874 families successfully returned to their areas in the four targeted Tribal Agencies. This includes 4618 families from Orakzai, 1558 from Kurram, 7508 from South Waziristan, and 3190 from North Waziristan.
Each of these 16,874 families were given Rs 25,000 as return cash grant and Rs 10,000 as transport grant to help them make their ends meet upon their return.
At the moment, 86% of Kurram TDPs, 51% of North Waziristan, 60% of Orakzai, and 32% of South Waziristan TDPs have successfully returned to their areas.
As more and more areas are being declared clear for return by the Army, the people belonging to that area are soon repatriated.