AN entire block in Musharraf Colony’s 6-D Street is inhabited by internally displaced persons from North Waziristan’s Norak, Miramshah and Datta Khel areas, amongst others. Naheed Bibi, 67, and Dawarana Bibi, 79, are the first ones to share their stories as 26-year-old Shahryar Khan Wazir, the only man at home around noon, arranges for other people from the neighbourhood to join the conversation.

There’s slight confusion at first. Many people gathered at Naheed’s two-room apartment had thought they were going to receive their documents or rations. Others chose to shy away as they only had a national identity card to show and as a result were not comfortable sharing the details of their journey.

Naheed’s apartment is big enough to house at least 30 people, as is evident by a large number of people still filing in as she speaks about life in Karachi. “They picked up my son a few days ago and said he’s involved in selling drugs,” she says, annoyed. “We are arranging for Rs200,000 to give to them.”

‘They’ in this case are the law enforcers, according to Shahryar, who is sitting nearby. This is the second person picked up by law enforcers in two weeks, he adds. “As we recently got to know, there’s a crackdown under way against anyone who goes against the law. My brother was also picked up. We know he didn’t do anything. He was mistaken for a Mehsud.”

There are no camps anywhere; in fact no camps were ever put up in Karachi when a mass of IDPs moved to many Pakhtun-dominated parts of the metropolis last year. The exodus of these people from North Waziristan to Karachi was a result of Operation Zarb-e-Azb that was launched by the military shortly after militants attacked Karachi’s airport in June, 2014.

On first inquiry, most organisations working in Karachi quite readily state that the IDPs from North Waziristan have gone back. They left the city within a few months, we are informed. But Ghulam Khan, general secretary of Mutasireen Qaumi Committee and mashar (head) of the tribal jirga in Bannu, says that there are around 300 families who migrated to Karachi soon after the operation last year.

The majority live in Sohrab Goth, Musharraf Colony, Machhar Colony, Baldia Town, Ittehad Town, Pipri, Shirin Jinnah Colony, Manghopir and North Karachi. “These families, mostly belonging to the Dawar and Wazir tribes, come from fairly well-settled backgrounds and already had businesses in Karachi, including owning transport and automobile spare-parts shops across the city,” he explains.

Some of them, however, are daily wage earners who left behind everything and moved. The migration to Karachi occurred in two phases, says Ghulam Khan. The city witnessed a major exodus from South Waziristan during the military operation of 2005. The majority of them, belonging to the Mehsud tribe, were mostly daily wage earners or pushed carts around Sohrab Goth.

“The Mehsuds have been living in Karachi for almost 50 years now,” says Rehmat Khan, head of the Mehsud Welfare Association in Peshawar. This organisation recently inaugurated a branch in Karachi to help educate and provide awareness to members of the Mehsud tribe through the contribution of retired officers and servicemen.

“We are taking funds from the rich to provide for the poor,” he says. “This is the only way to prosper.” The second phase of the exodus was in 2014, from North Waziristan. “The exodus from North Waziristan to Karachi occurred quietly as most people feared being attacked by nationalists and chose to stay with relatives rather than demand accommodation from the government,” adds Shahryar Khan, who accompanied five of his brothers as they moved bag and baggage from Datta Khel.

In Sohrab Goth’s dusty Gulshanabad area, where mud houses line an uncarpeted road, Abdul Ghani Khan, 45, is emptying his pockets to show us his documents. “We don’t want to live here,” he says, as a crowd of men and children gather around him. “This is not our city and the people are not friendly. We try to look out for each other. No one from the government asked us to move back or made arrangements for our resettlement,” he continues, finally finding the document with a stamp of the Fata Disaster Management Authority bearing his name and identity card number.

Listening to him, Abdul Khalil, 25, says “moving back is definitely on our minds but we are waiting for the situation to get better in North Waziristan. Going back when things are not settled will be worse than staying here.”

So far, the people who have businesses are thinking of staying in Karachi. The decision to move back remains with the ones with no other options. Even the idea of a better income is not enticing enough.

Sensing the mood, as one man walks away from the group wiping his eyes, Abdul Ghani Khan says: “We left our homes for the government. We can go back as soon as they want us to. We have sacrificed for Pakistan before and we can do it again. But home is where we want to go now. We want to see some familiar faces; we have spent enough time amongst strangers.”

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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