KARACHI - The authorities concerned have failed to establish proper mechanism to examine the influx of internally displaced people (IDPs) and conventional methods are being used to single out the terrorists entering Karachi due to military operation ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ in North Waziristan.
The law enforcement agencies and Sindh government have shown deep concern over the issue of IDPs arriving in the City to avoid Waziristan operation.
Talking to The Nation, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said the issue of IDPs’ settlement was important for the province because it would be difficult to accommodate massive influx of displaced people into the province. He said camps had been established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the people displaced due to the operation. “Security has been beefed up at all entry and exit points and the authorities concerned have been directed to check each commuter properly and note down their arrival purpose in the City. Efforts have been made to stop the arrival of terrorists in the guise of IDPs,” he explained.
A police intelligence official at Gadap Town said no massive migration had been witnessed in the City following the operation in Waziristan. People used to come from up country daily. He said random checking of the buses had been continued by the rangers and the police. Security personnel usually check the CNICs of suspicious commuters before they entered the port city while specific actions has been taken on intelligence reports.
Sindh Police Inspector General Iqbal Mehmood when contacted said four centres had been established in different cities including Karachi and Hyderabad where the police were monitoring the buses arriving from the upcountry. He said each Pakistani and even the registered Afghani had a right to move in the country freely. He said mechanism had been established to hunt the foreigners living illegally in Pakistan and arrival of terrorists in disguise of the IDPs.
It is believed that unplanned settlement of IDPs in the city is causing a number of problems including increasing rate of crime and terrorism.
Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat from department of criminally/sociology, University of Karachi has said that the massive influx in the City is the major cause of the current turmoil. He said several new illegal colonies had been established in last couple of years without any planning which resulted in increase of crime, terrorism, electricity and gas theft because the city have not enough resources to accommodate massive influx of the people.
The massive immigration has been started since the day Swat Operation began in 2007. Thousands of people were rushed to Karachi and settled in Orangi Town, Gadap Town, Saeedabad, Manghopir, Sultanabad, Pakhtunabad, Kunwari Colony and Pirabad areas. These areas were later turned into the strongholds of militants.
It is worth mentioning here that 180 police personnel have been killed in the City during the nine months Karachi operation and majority of the cops were targeted in the areas dominated by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.