Mosharraf Zaidi

At the end of January this year, the international community’s key humanitarian agencies had done some basic number crunching for how they would deal with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) crisis that was brewing in Pakistan towards the end of 2008. They estimated that the armed conflict in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies would likely drive the numbers of these Pakistanis who are refugees in their own country to about 600,000. To cater to those folks, it was estimated that roughly $36 million would be required to provide for the shelter, water and sanitation, food, and basic health care and schooling needs of the IDPs.

As I write these words, and the long overdue military operation to eliminate terrorists from Swat, Buner and Dir scorches more and more of the earth, that original estimate of 600,000 is exploding into ever larger numbers. Some civil society groups feel that the Swat-Buner-Dir IDPs alone will account for over a million people. The multilaterals and international agencies are slightly more conservative, with off-the-record numbers being cited in the range of 750,000 to 850,000.

Adding the new wave of Pakistanis who’ve been made refugees in their own country to the ones already displaced from Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai and other FATA agencies (around 560,000) places the total number of IDPs for 2009 at roughly 1.3 million.

Arsalan Ali Faheem

I am not prepared to accept the pessimism that characterizes our current national mindset, and neither should you be. One of Quaid-e-Azam’s best sayings was ‘Mussalmaan museebat mein, ghabraya nahin karta!’

It should be a source of motivation and strength for everyone in Pakistan, even our non-Muslim brethren, who should be confident that as Pakistanis they will enjoy freedom from injustice and be treated equally. Were not the odds stacked against our country in 1947? Were not our state’s coffers empty, our army poorly equipped and our infrastructure non-existent? What was it then, which motivated millions to forsake everything and place their trust in a land with no visible future? It was hope and the power of ideas and dreams. What we did have in ample supply were large hearts, optimism, and belief, instilled by the Quaid, in our ability to forge a great nation out of pathetic conditions.

Owais Mughal

The technicians in Electrical industry are always taught to provide a service loop while wiring. This is done to accomodate future wiring or re-routing which may require a little bit more length of wire.