PESHAWAR, Nov 17: The international community and the government of Pakistan have been asked to place a complete ban on production, trade, stockpiling and transfer of the deadly anti-personnel landmines to save the unwary children and other innocent people from becoming handicapped and killed for their entire lives.
The call was voiced by Faiz M. Fayyaz, director of policy and advocacy of the Pakistan an NGO, Campaign to Ban Landmines, which arranged its second conference titled “Children of the Universe” held here on Wednesday at the Peshawar Press Club.
The Fata regions, specially the Bajuar and Kurram, agencies have had the most number of landmines victims, he said and added that the areas bordering Afghanistan hosted arms and ammunition depots and training camps operated during Afghanistan war which also prompted the former USSR to plant the dangerous landmines with a view to terrify the tribesmen and keep them away from taking part in the war.
“Fifty per cent of its victims are children while 90 per cent are the civilians,” said Mr Fayyaz. He said most of the victims suffered for the rest of their lives and remained dependents on their relatives.
He also said they had so far identified 454 male and 234 females victims in the Fata. The number might be higher but lack of resources at their disposals prevented the volunteers from visiting the far-flung areas to help assist the victims by providing them medical aid in time.
He said the victims needed to be shifted immediately to the health care outfits so their lives could be saved. Due to the fear of the killer device, most of the agricultural land had also been rendered uncultivated for years, which has also suffered serious blow to the unfortunate tribesmen in terms of their income.
Dr Bakht Sarwar, managing director of the Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic Orthodontics Sciences, spoke about the physical, psychological, anxiety and socio-economic affects of the landmines on the children coming to seek artificial replacements of their lost limbs. He said the children handicapped by the landmines often dreamt to regain their lost organs. He also narrated touching tales of the playful children victims and urged more awareness and education regarding a hidden and lurking enemy.
Dr Sarwar was of the view that landmine was a devilish tool specially designed not to kill but to maim and disable the recipient for his/her whole life. He said even after survival, the innocent children could not attend to school nor they had the ability to develop their skills. Amputation of legs and hands was the most terrible ordeal through the victims went, because they suffered depression and host of psychological ailments.
Dr Sarwar said most of the victims were poor and could not afford visiting doctors in the city which further complicated the trauma of the patients and their relatives.
On the occasion, 12-year-old Abdul Malik of Bajuar Agency said that he was going to school when he found polish-tin-sized toy that burst suddenly the moment he picked it up in his hands on March 1. The next moment he was in hospital with both hands amputated. He said he was a student of class fifth now.
“I was lucky to get away with the landmine explosion, three months later, my cousin, Najeeb got vanished when he stepped on mines,” Malik said of his cousin. He said the blast was so powerful that they found only a piece of cloth which he was wearing.
Young Salahuddin from the same area, said he was going to the school in the morning when stepped on landmines concealed in the field some four years back. He lost his left foot and walks on crutches.— Bureau Report