Winning the hearts and minds of Pakistan’s displaced

Opinion: The military must be made to understand the importance of protecting non-combatants.

Samina AhmedMay 26, 2009 15:07Updated May 30, 2010 12:56

Internally displaced people, fleeing a military offensive in the Swat valley, congregate in a camp run by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Swabi district, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Pakistan's capital Islamabad May 26, 2009. U.S.-based Human rights Watch said Tuesday that hundreds of thousands of Pakistani civilians trapped by an offensive against the Taliban in Swat were facing a humanitarian catastrophe. (Faisal Mahmood/Reuters)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Winning hearts and minds is decisive in any counter-insurgency operation. As hundreds of thousands of displaced persons flee fighting in Swat, Buner and Dir districts in Pakistan, this single truth should drive the response by the Pakistani state and the international community. In short, how those people are treated will decide if the insurgency-hit zones are saved or lost to the Taliban.

There is urgent need for international assistance. The numbers of displaced from these three areas of Malakand division, combined with others from the Northwest Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, now total over a million. The government’s resources are severely strained. Without assistance, the Islamist groups will fill the gap, hoping to radicalize the disaffected, particularly the youth. There is some evidence this is already happening.

Those fleeing the conflict zone have to find their own way to safety. In the absence of official support, private transport providers are fleecing them, while others, who are unable to find transport or cannot afford it, are walking long distances to safety. The most vulnerable among them — children and the elderly — are more likely to succumb to disease in overcrowded displacement camps. Food, clean water, health facilities and other support are all in short supply. U.N. agencies are working overtime but are in urgent need of support.

A large number of the displaced have chosen to live with host families, in rented accommodation or in officially provided shelters such as schools. What they need is cash, not food supplies. Emergency relief in the shape of cash vouchers has been effective in other humanitarian disasters, and while this kind of assistance should be monitored, of course, too much red tape could defeat the purpose of the exercise. Speed of delivery trumps other concerns at the moment.

Even more worrying, the military in Malakand is using heavy artillery, helicopter gunships and jet fighters, which will inevitably result in civilian casualties. Unfortunately, we do not know how many civilians have been killed because there is virtually no civilian oversight of the operation and no independent verification. No media are present, and communication links have been cut.

Still, we have enough information to know that non-combatants in the conflict zones are without power and have dwindling supplies of food and water. Hospitals are without staff or supplies.