HAVING hosted millions of refugees over the years, especially after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan should have been quite capable of looking after displaced persons by now. But the latest news from Jalozai camp, the country’s largest shelter for internally displaced persons, has once again underlined that competent and humane dealing with IDPs is far from the norm. On Wednesday, the camp located near Peshawar was the scene of mayhem as desperate IDPs dashed towards the distribution point for food and hygiene kits. The resultant firing by camp security led to the death of one person. Condemnable as the incident is, the bro-ader problem will remain unaddressed: some 16,000 families, mostly from Khyber Agency, are registered at the camp, living lives of complete uncertainty as they await news of when they can return home while their present inhabitation continues to deteriorate. With the World Food Programme reducing rations, the threat of a food crisis looms at the camp — and, judging by their record so far, Pakistani authorities are unlikely to swing into action until the crisis explodes with predictable, and tragic, consequences.

But it is not just the people in Jalozai, or even those from South Waziristan taking refuge with relatives in settled areas since 2009, whose return to their homes has been delayed. There are other casualties of conflict, such as the Baloch of Dera Bugti, who have been denied IDP status by the government, and who are far less visible on the international radar. What needs to be done to help better protect IDPs is well known: a clear national policy on displaced people, whether they have been rendered homeless by natural disaster or forced to flee conflict zones, and follow-through on that policy. Will it happen, however? The IDPs at Jalozai and elsewhere may be forgiven for not being very hopeful. And therein lies a further problem for us: uproot tens of thousands of families in a bid to fight militancy but then leave those families at the mercy of officialdom — could these camps of misery become breeding grounds for the next generation of radicals?