The Complex Tapestry of Conflict-Induced Displacement: Unraveling Pakistan’s Urban Conundrum
In an increasingly interconnected world, the dynamics of conflict-induced displacement have assumed a multifaceted character. Pakistan, a nation straddling the confluence of South Asia and Central Asia, is not immune to this global challenge. It is within the sprawling urban landscapes of Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan's largest and capital cities, respectively, that we uncover the complexities and intricacies of displacement wrought by various forms of conflict. This piece aims to explore through this layered narrative, unravelling the intricate nexus between peace, security, and the destinies of those who, in the face of adversity, find themselves uprooted. It endeavours to not only elucidate the distinctions between individual and family displacements but also scrutinize the unique challenges and hostilities encountered by these communities in the urban landscape of Karachi and Islamabad.
The Multifarious Shapes of Conflict and Displacement:
Conflict, in its myriad forms, casts a long shadow over affected populations, precipitating strife, anguish, and displacement (Collier & Hoeffler, 2002). These forms include but are not limited to civil unrest, ethnic hostilities, political violence, and more. With each distinct form emerges a distinct set of challenges for those who are compelled to seek sanctuary (UNHCR, 2020). Urban centres, viewed as bastions of economic opportunities and relatively enhanced security, invariably become magnets for those desperate to escape conflict zones (UNHCR, 2020). However, these cities, despite their allure, often find themselves grappling with the intricacies of accommodating the surging waves of displaced communities, often with limited resources at their disposal.
Intra-Urban Displacement:
The Invisible Communities:
Communities often find it impossible to return once displaced
Intra-urban displacement (Cotroneo, 2017), a manifestation of conflict that unfurls within urban locales, presents a unique dimension. Communities such as the enclave of Slaughterhouse in the heart of Lyari, Karachi, have borne the brunt of violence and insecurity within their own city limits (The Nation, 2022). The surge in violence in Lyari's neighbourhood in 2013 led to the intra-urban displacement of the vulnerable Christian community from Slaughter House on October 26, 2013. Threats, killings, personal intrusions, drug-related issues, and assaults, especially on young girls, forced their migration. As a religious minority, their vulnerability was pronounced in an area where 90% were Christians and 10% Hindus, with seven sacred worship places.
Slaughter House, primarily a residence for minorities, faced threats since 2008. Poor wage workers, subjected to extortion falsely labelled as utility bills, faced additional misery besides continuous threats. These tensions were exacerbated in 2013 when fearmongering by Lyari gangsters compelled older residents to permanently leave. The intensified incidents like the killings of Victor William Bhutta, Yousuf Iqbal (Joja), and Younis Inayat as well as kidnappings of men and women, rape and assaults, prompted families to flee (Tribune, 2013).
Gangsters occupied the houses of displaced families. Despite post-Operation Lyari efforts, fear persisted, preventing the majority from returning. Consequently, the neighbourhood lost its essence for former occupants, leaving them displaced, in constant fear, and enduring isolation to this date (Mapping Displacement, 2023).
Intra-urban displacement is often a result of communal violence, which triggers demolitions, forced evictions, and gender-based violence in vulnerable communities
Likewise, the Rimsha Colony in Islamabad traces its origins to displacement within the city due to religious strife (Dawn, 2014). Pakistan's Christian minority, constituting about 1.6% of the country's overwhelmingly Muslim population, faces discrimination and persecution, often exacerbated by blasphemy laws used for personal vendettas. In 2012, Rimsha Masih's false accusation of desecrating the Quran led to threats, compelling her family to relocate to Canada. This incident echoed the challenges faced by Christians in Islamabad, where the Christian population accounts for a significant part of the city's approximate 60,000 Christians. Similar to past incidents in Gojra, Joseph Colony in Lahore, and Shanti Nagar, Christians in Islamabad's Mehrabadi area faced persecution and threats. Consequently, fearing hostility, residents sought refuge in various parts of the twin cities, with many settling in a Sector H-9 slum area (The Nation, 2015). This recurring pattern highlights how discrimination against religious minorities, has consistently led to intra-urban displacement. The pattern is reoccurring, as we also see recently in Jaranwala, Faisalabad where the Christian minority community faced persecution after a false blasphemy accusation.
Amidst the cacophony of urban life, exist the 'invisible communities,' their plight often overlooked or conveniently ignored by authorities.
Internal Displacement:
Ethnic & Sectarian – The Hazara Odyssey:
Internal displacement, on the other hand, narrates the tales of individuals and families who traverse Karachi and Islamabad following the cataclysmic violence of 2012-2013 against the Shia Hazara community in Quetta and provides a poignant example (The Tribune, 2014). Hazaras, who are the followers of Shia Islam, and have distinctive Mongolian features, have a longstanding history of being subjected to sectarian violence by the Taliban and other Sunni extremist groups in Balochistan. A report released by the National Commission for Human Rights in 2018 stated that between 2012-2017, 509 members of the Hazara community were killed and 627 injured in various incidents of terrorism in Quetta (NCHR, 2018). Continual violence perpetrated against Hazaras has confined them to designated localities within Quetta restricting their mobility depriving them of accessing necessities, such as health and education and limiting economic opportunities for them.
Safety over ghettoization is a tough choice in some communities, internally displaced by ethnic tensions.
Because of this persistent danger, the elderlies of the community claim that out of 600,000 an exuberant number of 100,000 had left Quetta, and out of which, roughly 80,000 chose to relocate to major cities, such as Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. Additionally, some Hazaras have chosen to migrate to countries like Australia, Canada, the UK, and Malaysia (Haider, 2014).
despite holding Pakistan’s nationality, they face discrimination by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and law enforcement agencies causing constant agony to their quest for safety and stability
It is important to ensure the security of such distinct ethnic and religious groups in displacement, as these communities bring with them not only their experiences and vulnerabilities but also their aspirations for a better life. In doing so, they often find themselves navigating a labyrinth of novel challenges.
Internal Displacement:
Military Operations Against Terrorism – Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the Tribal Areas Exodus:
Large-scale military operations in North and South Waziristan, namely Operation Rah-e-Nijat in 2009 and Operation Zarb-e-Azab in 2014 to eradicate terrorism, inadvertently caused internal displacement of more than 1.5 million civilians (Siddique, 2020). This time, the communities affected hailed from the Tribal Areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Sayeed & Shah, 2017). As a result of this operation.
communities found themselves in the paradoxical situation of fleeing conflict while seeking refuge in urban areas offering opportunities but fraught with uncertainties
. According to ex-Secretary for Security for Tribal Areas, Brigadier (Retd.) Mehmood Shah, “Thousands of IDPs were living in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Bannu, Mardan, Karachi, Lahore, and other cities because of militancy and subsequent military operations in Waziristan since 2004” (Mahmood, 2018). These IDPs faced imminent discrimination from the then Chief Minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah when he vowed to keep IDPs from North Waziristan out of the province, especially from Karachi and Hyderabad. He called them ‘aliens’ and subjected them to racism (Nation, 2014).
Cross-Border Displacement:
The Fall of Kabul and Afghan Displacement – A Shifting Focus:
The tumultuous events that accompanied the fall of Kabul in 2021 brought with them an unprecedented influx of Afghan displaced communities into Pakistan. An estimated 600,000 Afghans sought shelter in Pakistan after August 2021, out of which 303,000 approached UNHCR (UNHCR, 2024), some of them are on medical or visit visas, and many are living illegally, waiting to hear about their visa extensions (Reuters, 2023). These people who sought shelter in Pakistan after August 2021 are political opponents, as they are journalists or have worked with government institutions, international or national human rights organisations, or have worked with Western Embassies, foreign offices, or NATO. They fear retribution from the Taliban government the most (Bahiss, 2021)
Cross-border displacement of Afghans who fled to Pakistan, because of the fear of persecution are left to live in isolation and their children are out of school for over two years.
A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) presented shivering statistics of “218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill-treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions” between August 15, 2021, to June 30, 2023 (UNAMA, 2023)
However, the international spotlight, once briefly focused on their plight, swivelled to other crises, leaving them in the shadows (The New Humanitarian, 2023).
Pakistan's reluctance to legally accommodate these displaced communities through a legal system cast a pall over their already precarious existence, breeding an environment rife with hostility and mutual resentment
(Refugees International, 2022). This transition underscores the daunting challenges faced by displaced communities as they navigate not only the corridors of displacement but also the shifting tides of international concern.
Impact on Lives and Livelihoods:
The effects of displacement ripple through the lives and livelihoods of affected communities, affecting their access to fundamental services such as healthcare, education, and clean water (UNHCR, 2020). Overcrowding in temporary settlements exacerbates competition for resources, fomenting social tensions and discrimination (Koser & Pinkerton, 2002).
Education, often becomes a casualty in the lives of displaced children, particularly women and girl children who are forced into labour to support their families
(Sayeed & Shah, 2017). The upheaval caused by militant violence, military operations, and natural disasters has severely disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands. Families fleeing these crises face a grim reality where educational infrastructure suffers substantial damage, leaving schools, often serving as long-term shelters, in dire conditions. Consequently, an already inadequate educational system struggles to support the displaced. Compounded by economic hardship, many impoverished families are compelled to pull their children out of school, seeking their help to sustain the family income. This multifaceted crisis demands immediate attention to prevent a devastating loss in the education of countless young lives.
Resentment and the Burden of Resources:
Pakistan, a host to Afghan refugees for an extended period, grapples with a growing undercurrent of resentment among its own population. Economic strains, combined with job market woes and rising inflation, have magnified these tensions (The New Humanitarian, 2023). The strained allocation of resources deepens the chasm, with locals expressing frustration at their government's inability to meet their needs. In this cauldron of discontent, the coexistence of Afghan refugees and Pakistanis becomes a test of patience and tolerance.
The Unyielding Ecosystem of Violence:
As seen in the above case studies, one of the most distressing facets of conflict-induced displacement is the persistence of an unyielding ecosystem of violence.
The threats that initially drove these communities from their homes often persist, if not intensify, in their new settlements (Weinstein, 2007). When we look at the existing forms of conflict displacement discussed above, including intra-urban displacement because of communal violence, internal displacement because of ethnic or sectarian issues or because of military operations, and cross-border displacement, like Afghans who got displaced because of fear of being targeted, were the direct recipients of discrimination, xenophobia, lost identities, and violence. It also has intense effects on the social welfare and well-being of these affected communities.
Watching their neighbourhoods, getting raised to the ground in military operations has an emotional toll burnt by the IDPs of Waziristan
Despite the recurring displacement of individuals caused by natural disasters, terrorism, and counterterrorist operations, the government has yet to implement dedicated legislation to address the challenges of displacement. Furthermore, existing laws lack a clear definition or any provisions outlining the rights of displaced communities and persons affected by intra-urban displacement, internal displacement, and cross-border displacement. This gap in legal frameworks calls for urgent attention and proactive measures to safeguard and support these communities.
In conclusion, conflict-induced displacement in urban Pakistan paints a nuanced and challenging picture. The diversity of displacement forms, the impact on lives and livelihoods, and the perpetuation of an ecosystem of violence underscore the need for comprehensive responses. Understanding the disparities between individual and family displacement is crucial, as is acknowledging the unique challenges faced by these communities in the urban landscapes of Karachi and Islamabad. Only through a holistic approach can displaced communities find the peace and security they seek and break free from the vicious cycle of displacement and violence.
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