The refugee agency of United Nations has begun to distribute additional relief supplies to some 85,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are living in camps in the northwest of Pakistan, a press release said Wednesday.
This aid will help the IDPs, gathering some 13,600 families, to cope with the hardships of winter, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement.
The first phase of the winterization drive started on Monday in the Jalozai camp, which is located near Peshawar, the capital of North West
Frontier Province (NWFP). It will continue in eight camps in the lead up to the Eidal-Adha Muslim holiday, which will begin on Friday.
Each family will receive six blankets, four sleeping mats and two plastic sheets for warmth and insulation, in addition to other relief
supplies received when they initially registered in the camp, the UNHCR said.
There are currently more than 100,000 people residing in 10 camps in NWFP. Jalozai is the largest, accommodating more than 80, 000 people,
primarily from the neighboring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
About 30,000 people from Bajaur and Khyber tribal area have registered at the camp since October. Up to 900,000 people from the northern areas of the FATA and NWFP could still be displaced and staying with host communities, according to overall relief distribution figures.
Movement back and forth between displacement and return areas has made it difficult to have a more precise estimate on the remaining IDPs.
The Pakistani Army launched a military operation in South Waziristan tribal area on Oct. 17, advancing towards the main base of Taliban militants in Pakistan. According to Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority, about 275,000 people fled the tribal area before and during the military operation.