Pakistan Government under fire over plight of internal refugees

Abu Dhabi: The outside world does not know what is happening to a large number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Bhakkar district, close to the conflict areas where Pakistani Army started a fresh offensive against Taliban militants two weeks ago, an official of an international Non- Government Organisation (NGO) told Gulf News on Thursday evening.

Pakistan Government banned international NGOs accessing Bhakkar, a town in Punjab but close to North West Frontier Province (NWFP), saying the area is sensitive because of its proximity to the conflict zones in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan districts in NWFP, said Jean Pierre Amigo, the head of the Mission in Pakistan, Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), an international-non-profit medical organisation. He was in Pakistan from May this year till Tuesday.

No camps

A large number of IDPs were coming to Bhakkar during the past two weeks but no refugee camps were set up there, according to local eyewitnesses and journalists, he said. "MSF opened a Trauma Centre which can perform surgeries for patients but we had to close it down; it was a very important project for the IDPs there," Amigo said. He said MSF did not have access to the area for past two weeks

The Pakistan government is concerned about the security of international NGOs, he said. "They have their own reasons. But, we and other medical organisations have been working in war zones for years. We can take care of our security. International humanitarian law is clear about it", Amigo explained.