Displaced Pakistanis live in appalling conditions, says rights group

More than two million Pakistanis who have been displaced by the ongoing war between security forces and militants, but who have not got admission into any relief camp, are in appalling condition as they have no access to government aid, the Amnesty International has said.

The government must ensure the ethnic Pashtuns fleeing the fighting in northwest Pakistan do not face discrimination in receiving assistance, the Online news agency said Saturday, citing the rights group Amnesty.

As the government expanded its military operations to North and South Waziristan, there has been no immediate relief in sight for millions of displaced people, it said.

To make matters worse, the vast majority of the displaced people are living outside the registered camps where aid agencies are distributing shelter, food and water to those in need, Amnesty Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi said.

Nearly 90 percent of the displaced people do not have access to the relief camps and live in extremely overcrowded conditions in slums and abandoned buildings. At least three or four families are sharing a house with inadequate food and water, the agency said.

The World Health Organisation has warned of a significant risk of communicable diseases with the arrival of hot weather and monsoons.

Amnesty has documented some two dozen instances where displaced Pashtuns have been told they cannot rent property, access health care or admit their children in schools without security clearance - which is difficult for many people who lost their documentation as they fled.

In such a scenario, the women and children are the worst affected, it noted.

Conditions seem particularly difficult in the Sindh province, where some local political groups have fanned fears that the influx of Pashtuns would threaten the local population.

According to local aid groups, more then 200,000 displaced people have already reached various cities in Sindh, including Jamshoro, Kotri, and Sukkhar, joining millions of Pashtuns already living there.

A leader of the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party said people in Sindh are against the settlement of displaced people from North West Frontier Province (NWFP) as the Sindhi population in the province would become a minority.

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( 366 Words)

2009-07-04-14:51:47 (IANS)

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