Pakistan triple tragedy of Taliban conflict, refugees, indifference

U.N. humanitarian officials stress that approximately 90 percent of the people were staying in the homes of relatives, families or community facilities but at least 250,000 are stranded in camps. John Holmes, U.N. Humanitarian coordinator appealed for US$543 million to cover the costs of the widening tragedy. Operating under the assumption that 1.5 million civilians will remain displaced of which 200,000 in camps will need assistance through December, the appeal is ongoing but falling on fallow ground. Only a quarter of needed funds have been pledged.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that there are now 235,000 people in 21 camps in the Northwest Frontier.

Sadly the “disaster overload” which has plagued the U.N. and donor states comes into play. With so many global crises and humanitarian disasters there's simply a moral numbness of which issues to prioritize.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that serious humanitarian funding shortfalls could actually run the “risk of a destabilizing secondary crisis.”

Given the brutal heat of summer and the lack of shelter, sufficient water and food, the domestic problem could widen. Moreover in parallel to Pakistan's inherent instability, there's the role of its nuclear arsenal, which brings nightmarish concerns to many policymakers both in neighboring India and the West. The conflict is far from over.

John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. Metzler can be reached by jjmcolumn@att.net

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