HYDERABAD: The issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) should be tackled without impinging on the rights of the host community in accordance with UN guiding principles on internal displacement, said civil society representatives at a discussion programme here on Monday.

UN Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), police officials and civil society representatives attended the programme organised by an NGO, Rights Now, at the Hyderabad DIG police office.

They were of the opinion that the IDPs should be settled within a radius of 100 kilometres from their native towns and asked to return home voluntarily when normality returned to their villages.

In his presentation, Advocate Ali Palh who heads Rights Now mentioned that the three points — resettlement, reintegration and repatriation — must be taken into consideration while handling the issue of IDPs. He said capacity building of police was necessary so that terrorists trying to slip into settled areas could be identified and traced.

He said police across the country must be aware of registration cards the IDPs carried for identification.

There were reports indicating that militants might disguise themselves as IDPs while fleeing their areas, he said.

Around 500,000 of the IDPs who left North Waziristan were travelling to Punjab and Sindh, he said, while referring to Article 15 of the Constitution that guarantees right to free movement.

However, he said, host community rights must not be infringed upon while settling IDPs.

He also called for taking appropriate steps to check cases of sexual harassment or arbitrary detention in the wake of displacement of people due to the army operation in North Waziristan.

Zulfiqar Halepoto, a writer and researcher associated with the Sindh Rural Support Prog­ramme and Sindh Agricultural and Forestry Workers Coordi­nating Organisation, said that Sindhi society was not against the IDPs but the host community rights must not be infringed.

According to the UN guiding principles on internal displacement, IDPs should be settled within the 100-kilometre radius from the place of their displacement, he said, adding that they should be settled in camps and given due humanitarian assistance that was their fundamental right.

Polio vaccination of IDPs should be ensured in North Waziristan, he said, adding that all IDPs should not be bracketed with terrorism and distinction should be made between the militants and innocent people.

The meeting was informed that no checkpoints were established by Nadra in any area except North Waziristan. Nadra could verify data of those having different cards for identification. Checkpoints had been set up in Swat during the military operation there but so far no reference had been given for setting up camps for IDPs from North Waziristan.

However, it was expected that the displaced community would move to Karachi.

Published in Dawn, July 8th , 2014