PESHAWAR - The indifferent attitude of the political leaders put the most pressing issue of over one million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan Agency in cold storage, leaving them in the lurch in this time of test.
This was the crux of a research study on the latest situation of IDPs from Waziristan; Issues and Challenges. The study recommended the international humanitarian community to come forward and help the distressed and forgotten dislocated persons at the earliest.
The launching ceremony of the study was held here on Tuesday. Besides others, PML-N MNA Marvi Memon, President IDPs Committee Nisar Ali and PTI Khyber Agency office bearer Iqbal Afridi also spoke on the occasion.  Apart from, tribal elders, chieftains, IDPs, political figures, government officials, members of civil society, legal and media professionals also attended the ceremony.
In his opening remarks, Fata Research Centre (FRC) Director Dr Ashraf Ali underlined the need for strengthening state-citizen relationship and termed it a panacea of all problems being faced by the country. "It was the right time to respond positively and quickly to put an end to the sense of frustration and deprivation the people of this troubled region had nurtured over the years," he added.
The study report, which has been prepared by Zalan Communications (ZComms), is a collection of DPs grievances and complaints gathered through its call centre. Zalan Communications is a non-partisan, non-political research organisation engaged in humanitarian services through research, advocacy and innovative services in communications.
Due to the ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb, around one million tribesmen fled their areas for safer places and got shelter in downtowns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province like Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Hangu, Peshawar and other parts of the country.
According to official estimates around 10,16,611 persons (96699 families) have been displaced so far. "To avoid humiliation and wreath of the hot weather some 75,000 people preferred to go to Afghanistan," the study added.
In the wake of current political turmoil in the country, this burning issue has gone into the background. Political leadership is engaged on the political stage of Islamabad, media is little focused on this huge humanitarian tragedy, it explained.
To draw the government attention by generating debates on this pressing issue, Zalan Communications established a help line in joint collaboration with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to register complaints, grievances, needs and demands of the DPs, prioritise their issues and help redress their challenges by taking them up with the government officials and relevant stakeholders.
Based on the DPs' telephone calls, the report offers food for thought for the stakeholders - government departments, national and international humanitarian organisations and policy makers - on how to move ahead and deal with this humanitarian crisis. "The report is an attempt to coordinate activities of the actors' humanitarian organisations and other stakeholders to avoid duplication of activities and abridge the gap between the state and citizen through this two-way communication system," the study added.
"A total of 9,645 calls were received in the initial six weeks i.e. (July 6 to August 8). Out of the total, 8,304 callers were provided with required info and guidance while 1,885 callers were referred to various government, non-governmental organisations and focal persons for assistance," it informed.
The efforts helped in resolving problems of the DPs, particularly those related to health, registration, emergencies, cash packages and donations while guiding them to the respective quarters.
The pressing issues remained cash packages, registration, health, corruption, water and sanitation, dual addresses, food and women headed households. About 10 per cent of the callers were women, with most of them heads of the households, it stated. The report reveals that 6,230 of the total calls were received from Bannu while 844, 363, 319 and 153 calls were received from Peshawar, D.I.Khan, Lakki Marwat and Islamabad respectively.