BANNU: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan urged Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Sunday to allow foreign NGOs to take part in relief work and help internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Speaking to tribal elders on the occasion of opening a complaint cell in Bannu, he said no objection certificates should be immediately issued to NGOs so that they could bring relief goods from abroad.

Mr Khan said the IDPs had been facing an emergency-like situation in which the role of NGOs could not be ignored.

He said a helpline would be set up to facilitate foreign donor agencies and remove hurdles. The donors will be in touch with the IDPs to ascertain their requirements and supply the needed relief items.

Also read: Over half a million IDPs registered

Later talking to journalists, Imran Khan said he and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak would talk to the army chief to allow donor agencies access to the IDPs.

He said the focus should on solving the problems being faced by displaced women and keeping in view the tribal tradition the National Database and Registration Authority should set up a separate centre with female staff for registration of women.

The PTI chief criticised the Peshawar Electric Supply Company for carrying out long hours of loadshedding and said it compounded the misery of IDPs, especially those admitted to hospitals.

There should be a separate power line to ensure continuous supply of electricity to hospitals.

The PTI chief said efforts would be made to mitigate the problems of IDPs.

The provincial and federal governments should monitor the performance of the national and provincial disaster management authorities because their role was crucial at this stage.

Related: IDPs’ registration: 13,000 cases rejected for duplication

Mr Khan said that during his visit to the Bannu hospital, doctors told him that they were facing shortage of medicines and the available stock could meet the requirement for only two or three days.

He urged the federal government to announce Rs15 billion as health grant for the IDPs.

Prior to the military operation, he said, the KP government had been told that only 100,000 displaced people would come to the province.

But the number had now reached 750,000, putting the provincial government in trouble to handle them, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014