Loan for IDPs

The plight of those who have been displaced by the war against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliates in the northern and tribal areas of the country continues to haunt us. With lower estimates from the government expecting that at least $750 million will be needed for the complete rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the question of where the money for their resettlement will come from has been raised a number of times. The World Bank on Thursday announced that it would foot around 10 percent of the bill, having approved a $75 million loan for the rehabilitation of IDPs. Around 87 percent of the loan, $62 million, will be distributed as a cash grant aimed at facilitating the return of IDP families to their homes. The figures seem to be positive until one takes a deeper look into what it means for each family. On ground, the loan will mean that only 120,000 families will receive a Rs45,000 cash grant in two phases. They will receive Rs35,000 as a one-time early recovery grant with four monthly Rs4,000 instalments upon return. The amount is barely enough for a family to survive for one month, let alone being considered enough to rebuild destroyed homes and businesses. Moreover, the meagre amount will only be distributed to one-third of the families affected by the operation.
Upon closer inspection, it is clear that the amount is peanuts, which raises questions about the overall strategy and financial planning on the part of the government to rehabilitate IDPs. Although the loan comes with soft terms, including a five-year grace period and return time of 25 years, it is a classic example of international lending which provides little to no real benefit to the population. Around 336,762 families have been displaced as the human cost of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. They will certainly need more than the handouts being offered through World Bank funding. The $750 million rehabilitation estimate by the government is clearly on the lower end and a human catastrophe is quite possible once the said populations return home. While the WB loan may help ease some of their suffering, certainly much more is needed for these families.