In its fact-finding report titled The Merger and its Discontents launched Wednesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern about the alleged mismanagement of development resources for the Newly Merged Districts (NMDs), the resurgence of militancy in the region, the delayed repatriation of internally displaced persons (IDPs), curbs on fundamental freedoms, incidence of enforced disappearances and the continued use of internment centres.
Led by former HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani, the fact-finding mission team comprised regional vice-chair Akbar Khan, HRCP members Ijaz Khan and Jamila Gilani, and staff members Shahid Mehmood and Marrium Rauf. The report documents the mission’s visit to Swat, Bannu, Khyber, Peshawar and an IDP camp in Baka Khel, and underscores the discontentment of NMDs’ residents over the slow implementation of the merger plan; residents also allege that the merger’s promise of equality, equal protection under the law and equitable development remain unfulfilled.
The continued presence of armed forces that hinders the establishment of law and order under police jurisdiction and a return to normalcy, as well as evidence of continued enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions in internment centres, were also noted. Such practices, along with threats to the work of journalists.
