THE World Bank on Friday approved an additional $114m earmarked for Fata’s 326,000 temporarily displaced families. This contribution to the tribal areas’ ongoing emergency recovery project augments the bank’s initial outlay of $75m in August 2015. Under the original project, funds were sufficient for 120,000 displaced families from North and South Waziristan, Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies. More funds should provide relief to the authorities that have before them the gargantuan task of repatriating and rehabilitating an estimated 3.2m people, half of whom are children in need of humanitarian assistance according to Unicef. While more money for services such as health, water and sanitation is an incentive for families to return, there are reports that monetary help is slow to get to those in need, if not irregular. Aid for returnees includes an early recovery package with two cash grants and child wellness grants provided in three instalments of Rs2,500 each. While a one-time cash grant of Rs35,000 and livelihood support aid of Rs16,000 are attractive propositions in the present, limited educational and economic opportunities must be remedied with the future in mind.

Considering the colossal damage to infrastructure and livelihood in Fata, the IDPs’ reluctance to return is not surprising. Even after the military operation, safety concerns had been cited as one reason for not returning, with many apprehensive on account of both security forces’ long-term presence and the possibility of the resurgence of militants. Recently, a Dawn report quoted locals contradicting military figures (92pc) for returnees, stating that only 60pc to70pc of families had returned to their villages. Earlier this year, a Unicef assessment mission found that 60pc of residents in North Waziristan lacked water, hygiene and sanitation facilities, and 70pc had no clean drinking water. Handing out money to Fata returnees is a short-term measure. Without sustained stability and socioeconomic interventions, families in the scarred tribal areas don’t stand a chance. For starters, consider how the lack of education has had serious implications for Fata’s youth over the decades. While rebuilding is the government’s responsibility — and partly that of the military that has a stake in the region — transparency is imperative in fund disbursement and utilisation. This is perhaps the last opportunity to provide stability to a generation that is all too familiar with militancy, drones and destruction. Failing them is not an option.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2017