PESHAWAR: Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) will start registration of those internally displaced persons from North Waziristan Agency in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who have not been registered so far.

An official said that registration of un-registered displaced families would be started in the next two days.

FDMA would establish registration points in Bannu, Peshawar and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the purpose.

He said that a large number of families had come to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before launching operation Zarb-i-Azb in North Waziristan Agency on June 18 and they were not registered. These families have taken shelter with host families or in rented houses in different areas of the province.

About 30,000 individuals will be registered in the next phase

“Approximately 30,000 individuals would be registered in the next phase,” the official said, adding that FDMA would provide lists of the fresh IDPs to National Database Registration Authority for verification.

He said that evacuation of civilians from Waziristan was stopped in the wake of ground operation that was formally launched on Monday.

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Officials said that before the launch of operation, around 62,000 people had fled North Waziristan.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a handout that 37,757 families consisting of 466,287 individuals were registered at the registration points at Saidgai in Frontier Region of Bannu.

At district Bannu, a relief camp has also been established that would work under the PDMA and will support the district administration in relief activities. “Presently five food distribution points are functional in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the official said.

He said that provincial government had released Rs349 million to PDMA for establishment of camps in Bannu city, however, in the wake of the ongoing military operation; a decision was taken by the federal government to establish camps inside Fata.

A camp has been established in Bakakhel area which is jointly managed by army and FDMA. Looking to the trend of IDPs of not going to the camps, the provincial government has decided to convert this amount into cash assistance for 15,000 displaced families at Rs3,000 per month up to six months.

This amount will be transferred to each IDP family via a transparent mechanism by PDMA/FDMA on the basis of verified data from Nadra.

The NGOs and UN agencies are not involved in relief activities as per decision of the federal and provincial governments about going for an international humanitarian appeal.

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However, the system of humanitarian assistance has been streamlined on the direction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary through the government with particular focus on the offices of deputy commissioner and DDMO.

PDMA has requested all the deputy commissioners to constitute district level committees to gather relevant information about the displaced persons residing with their relatives. This data will be used for security as well as provision of relief to IDPs.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2014