2 NEWS HEADLINES DETAILS 4,000 families evacuated PESHAWAR: After putting on hold evacuation of around 4,000 families from Eidek area of North Waziristan Agency to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the security forces have shifted them three from NWA’s Eidek area kilometres away to Peer Kallay and collected arms and ammunition from them. Residents said Daily Dawn,August 31, 2014 that the security forces launched a house-to-house search operation in the area near Eisha checkpost and collected weapons after they were evacuated from their homes. One resident told Dawn on phone that the search operation was conducted a few days ago and people were evacuated to Peer Kallay. He said that before the search operation people were shifted to Peer Kallay where tents had been provided. He said that some families had taken shelter in abandoned houses. “The officials assured the residents that the government would pay them for their weapons taken away by the security forces,” he said, adding that despite completion of the operation and collection of weapons people were not allowed to go back to their homes. An official said that some families had been dislocated internally where basic facilities had been provided while some families had moved out to Bannu. He said that evacuation of civilians from Eidek had been completed. He expressed ignorance about payment for weapons to the tribesmen. Eidek, located in Mirali sub-division, and its inhabitants were exempted from displacement. The political administration had served notices on the residents on August 7 and asked them to leave the area immediately. Sources said that after receiving notices the elders formed a jirga and held meetings with quarters concerned in Islamabad and Peshawar and the plan was postponed. Over 52,000 families have been evacuated from North Waziristan in the wake of military operation. Residents of Eidek said that before the launch of operation Zarb-i-Azb on June 18, the administration had assured them that they would not be dislocated. They said that militants never entered Eidek and residents had always cooperated with the security forces. Schools reopening PESHAWAR: The buildings of around 460 government schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tomorrow but scores southern parts are occupied by the internally displaced persons of North Waziristan Agency though the reopening of local educational institutions after the three-month summer vacations is occupied by IDPs just a day away.The government had accommodated tribesmen of the restive tribal agency in Daily Dawn,August 31, 2014 1,400 government schools of Bannu, Karak and Lakki Marwat districts after the military operation against militants led to their displacement more months ago. The reason was that schools were closed due to summer vacations. Afterwards, most IDPs were shifted to camps. However, those occupying 460 schools, mostly in Bannu, continue to stay put. Now when the reopening of schools is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday), vacating some buildings from IDPs has turned out to be a challenge for the relevant authorities. However, an official of the education department insisted, “believe me we’ll get schools vacated tomorrow (Sunday).” He said educational activities in the districts would begin on Monday after summer vacations. According to the official, the provincial government had formally informed all IDPs to vacate government schools by August 20. Another official said officials of the education department and district administration had been visiting schools, where IDPs were accommodated, for three days to ask displaced persons to leave the premises. He said IDPs vacated around 240 schools on Friday and 120 on Saturday. “Though it is a challenge to get 460 schools vacated in a single day, we’re making every effort to shift IDPs from there to the camp to ensure resumption of educational activities there,” he said. About the reaction of IDPs when they’re asked to vacate schools, the official said displaced persons were gloomy as they insisted they had no proper shelter. He said the schools had facilities, including drinking water, electricity and latrine, so IDPs, mostly the poor people, were concerned about where to go. Sources in the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said the buildings of 105 government schools would be used as shelter. They said such schools were either under enrolment or in the final stage of the construction. The sources said the students of under-enrolment schools would be shifted to the adjacent nearby schools to continue education. Meanwhile, a large number of students and teachers from North Waziristan Agency on Saturday demonstrated in the capital city to demand return to the areas cleared by the army from militants. Natural disasters cost over PESHAWAR: In the past decade, natural disasters have cost over 1.2 million lives and economic losses have continued to skyrocket. Projections indicate that damages from disasters will climb 1.2m lives in last decade up to US$400 billion per year and with climate change expected to worsen these impacts, The Statesman,August 29, 2014 identifying innovative solutions and responses has become an urgent priority. This week at the 5th Annual International Disaster Risk Conference (IDRC), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) unveiled its latest effort to build resilience to this global challenge. UNEP is launching the first-ever Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) focusing on how to minimize disaster risk through "natural" or ecosystem-based solutions. Ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and reefs often provide valuable protection against natural hazards like avalanches and flooding. They also supply vital services such as food, fuel, and shelter following a disaster event. Yet limited awareness of the services offered by ecosystems and false perceptions on their effectiveness as a tool for disaster risk reduction is preventing concrete action. "In order to bring disaster losses under control, we need more skills, scale and speed in our disaster risk reduction efforts. This MOOC improves access at a global scale by enabling people to learn directly from experts and practitioners how to apply ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and adaptation in their own communities," said Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy, Senior Manager for Disaster Risk Reduction at UNEP. This MOOC will also broaden awareness on the different tools available beyond concrete or engineered solutions by demonstrating how climate change, disasters, and the environment are linked. - PPI Displaced people in PESHAWAR: The internally displaced persons from North Waziristan Agency are in quandary to quandary over burying their find place for burying their dead as both the provincial government and local administration has yet to allot specific land for a graveyard. Some people have to take a detour to shift the dead to ©2014 www.alhasan.com 3 dead their ancestral graveyards via Kurram Agency and Afghanistan. The administration hasn’t been allowing relatives to take the bodies to North Waziristan since the military operation begun in the Daily Dawn, August 29, 2014 area on June 18, said the affected people. Admin not allowing shifting of bodies to restive N Waziristan “IDPs have to beg locals to allow them to bury bodies in their graveyards,” said Malik Ghulam Khan Wazir, an elder of Datakhel area. He said transporters charged Rs40,000 to Rs50,000 for shifting a corpse from Bannu to North Waziristan via Khost in Afghanistan. Ghulam Wazir, who is member of the committee for IDPs, which coordinates with the government, said 95 deaths had occurred so far and majority of the bodies had been buried at local graveyards in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan. He said the reason was that the people were not allowed to take coffins to the area, because of conflict and curfew. “In some cases local people denied IDPs to bury bodies in their graveyards,” he said. Over half million people have been displaced from the conflict hit North Waziristan who have taken shelter in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with majority of them in Bannu district. The IDPs from South Waziristan Agency, Khyber Agency and other tribal areas have been facing the same dilemma back in 2009. Over 36,000 displaced families of Mehsud tribe who were driven out from their area in 2009 in the wake of military operation against outlawed Tehreek Taliban Pakistan have purchased land near Dera Ismail Khan to bury dead. IDPs from Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency are confronting the same issue. Haji Gulbat Khan, who has been residing in Jalozai Camp Nowshera since 2009, said that IDPs had been burying bodies in three abandoned graveyards of the Afghan refugees who stayed there for almost three decades. In many cases, IDPs of North Waziristan temporarily buried their dead in the hosting areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a promise that they would take coffins to the area after returning to their homes. People do not allow outsiders to bury bodies in their graveyards to avoid land disputes in future. It was observed that when people from Buner and Swat were also displaced due to military offensive against militants in their area, people of other adjoining villages opened their doors to the displaced persons but even in that situation did not allow their land for burial of dead of the IDPs. Nazir Din Wazir, resident of Miramshah said many people had temporarily buried bodies in Bannu and Lakki Marwat because security forces did not give permission to take coffins back to the area. After displacement, elders have requested federal minister for state and frontier region Abdul Qadir Baloch and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to provide land to the IDPs for graveyard. “The federal minister and chief minister have promised to allot plot for graveyard, but did not fulfil their commitments,” said Khalil Wazir, another member of the committee. He said that elders had also requested Commissioner Bannu Syed Mohsin Shah to allot 10 kanals for the purpose, but in vain.