Summary Commissioner Bannu said the distribution of Eid package will begin today.
BANNU (Dunya News) – The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) over North Waziristan operation reached five hundred seventy two thousand on Friday. Commissioner Bannu said that the amount of Rs 30 crore has already been distributed and that the distribution of Eid package will begin today (Friday), Dunya News reported.
The number of affectees reached five hundred and seventy two thousand. Commissioner Bannu and Camp Commander Brigadier Aftab held a press conference in which Commissioner Bannu Syed Mohsin Shah told the press that the registration of IDPs is being carried out at three different points. He said at least five lakh seventy two thousand IDPs have been registered thus far, adding that the relief items are being distributed with support from the Pakistan army.
Camp Commander Brigadier Aftab said that over 4.5 thousand tons of relief goods have been distributed among thirty one thousand registered families.
He said that temporary mosques have been built to facilitate these families and that the medical facilities including doctors and medicines have been made available for the IDPs round the clock.
Brigadier Aftab said that five thousand bags are being distributed among the IDPs every day. He told that the army has also established a camp in Bakka Khel.
It merits mentioning here that three additional registration desks have been put up in various areas of Bannu for the IDPs in order to speed up the registration process for the affectees. IDPs from Mir Ali, Miranshah and Zarmik are able to get themselves registered at Government Commerce College, Bannu Sugar Mills and Government High School No 4.
Nearly 500,000 people have fled the offensive in North Waziristan, which is aimed at wiping out longstanding militant strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan.
Tens of thousands of families have left for the town of Bannu, close to North Waziristan, while hundreds more have moved further afield to the towns of Lakki Marwat, Karak and Dera Ismail Khan since the offensive began in mid-June.
Jets and artillery began hitting militant targets in North Waziristan on June 15, launching an operation to regain full control of the district after years of pressure from Washington and other powers.
The assault was finally launched after a dramatic attack on Karachi airport last month which killed dozens of people and marked the end of a faltering peace process with the Pakistani Taliban.
So far, 376 militants and 19 soldiers have been killed in the offensive, according to the military, though with the area off-limits to journalists the number and identity of the dead is impossible to verify.
Major General Asim Bajwa, the chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, said on Tuesday the ongoing offensive would target all militants, including the feared Haqqani network.
He also demanded Afghanistan do more to track down hardline cleric Maulana Fazlullah, who took over the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership last year after previous chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a US drone. Fazlullah is believed to be in hiding across the border.
Relief for IDPs:
The government established three more registration centers at various points in Bannu on Thursday in order to facilitate the smooth registration of the IDPs arriving from the war zone. Reportedly, thousands are yet to receive government’s aid in terms of food and shelter.
