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The ICRC in Pakistan
Floods in Pakistan
©ICRC
ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent staff prepare the food distribution in Nowshera in north-western Pakistan.
The hostilities that began in north-eastern Pakistan in mid-2008 have had dramatic effects on the humanitarian situation there. In particular, an upsurge in fighting between the Pakistani armed forces and insurgent groups in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) since May 2009 has left hundreds of thousands of residents stranded and deprived of basic services. It also triggered mass displacements of population, estimated at over 2.5 million people, from Dir, Swat and Bajaur districts.

Working with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, the ICRC has stepped up its assistance to civilians in areas affected the fighting and to internally displaced people (IDPs) who have found refuge in safer areas – in camps, among host families or other shelters.

The ICRC was the first international humanitarian organization to enter Buner, Dir and Swat as soon as the security situation allowed. It has helped get the main hospitals in Buner and Swat up and running again, provided emergency relief to IDPs and restored family links severed by displacement.

In Peshawar the ICRC's surgical field hospital – initially set up to treat casualties of the fighting in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border – mainly treats patients from the NWFP now. Its physical rehabilitation programme helps patients disabled by their injuries return to a normal life.

Its contact with all parties involved in the fighting enables the ICRC to engage them in a dialogue on the need to protect civilians, the medical mission of the Red Cross/Red Crescent, detainees and on other humanitarian concerns.

The ICRC has been visiting Pakistani detention facilities since 2007. Detainees repatriated to Pakistan from the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba are of particular concern to the organization. It runs a programme that enables civilians and detainees separated from their families to re-establish and maintain contact with them.

While scaling back its activities related to the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the ICRC still assists disabled people, primarily through rehabilitation and micro-economic projects.

The ICRC has been active in the country since 1947.

Presence (2009): 800 staff, including 100 expatriates


Key document
    24-8-2010
    Pakistan: satellite phones help bring relief to family members separated by floods
    Floods continue to imperil the lives of thousands of people in Pakistan. The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society have so far provided emergency aid including food, clean water and medical care to over 200,000. Separated family members are among the growing number of flood victims. Jessica Barry reports.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    17-8-2010
    Pakistan: as flood waters recede, hidden killers lie in wait
    With a real risk of mines and unexploded ordnance being washed down with the floods, people living in previously uncontaminated areas are now at risk. Jessica Barry has been finding out more.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    15-2-2010
    Pakistan: stories from the front lines
    In the severely conflict-affected North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, the radio is the most popular source of information and entertainment. The following are the stories of people deeply affected by the violence in these areas and how the ICRC stepped in to help them. They were widely aired on Pakistani radio in November and December 2009.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Audio Collection Includes Audio

    29-12-2009
    Pakistan: helping families connect with loved ones in Guantanamo
    An ICRC-facilitated video-telephone call (VTC) programme launched in October 2009 is connecting relatives of detainees in Guantanamo with their loved ones. The Parachas are one of three Pakistani families benefiting from the programme, which is an extension of the VTC initiative that began at the Bagram facility in Afghanistan in April 2008.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

Feature
    1-9-2010
    Pakistan: looking to the future, villagers in Momin Gari salvage what they can
    While floods still rage in the south, the water has started to recede in northwest Pakistan and the full extent of the damage caused to people's lives and livelihoods is becoming clear. An ICRC delegate, Jessica Barry, went to one village in Nowshera to find out how families there are coping.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    15-3-2010
    Pakistan: growing rehabilitation facilities bring new life to amputees
    Demand for artificial limbs in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, is high and increasing, as patients flood in from Waziristan, and the border areas of Afghanistan, Sindh and Punjab. An ICRC-managed rehabilitation facility in Quetta is helping to give a growing number of amputees a new life.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    14-9-2009
    Pakistan: Kuwait Red Crescent Society supports Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement action
    Buner IDP camp in north-west Pakistan is a temporary home to 25,000 people displaced by fighting. The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent were recently able to distribute a very welcome donation of food from the Kuwait Red Crescent Society.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    11-6-2009
    Pakistan: a bed for the night
    The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society have set up a camp in Swabi, North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), to receive up to 35,000 people who have fled the fighting in the province. They represent just a fraction of the overall number of displaced NWFP residents, who now number over two million according to official figures, but their stories give an idea of the phenomenon as a whole.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

    18-5-2009
    Pakistan: Alina learns to walk again
    War in north-west Pakistan is causing more and more casualties. On a recent filming trip to the region, the ICRC's Jan Powell met 10-year-old Alina, who was badly injured in a bomb explosion and is now being treated in the ICRC's field hospital in Peshawar.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Feature Includes Photo

Field newsletter
ICRC film
    31-10-2005
    Saving lives in Kashmir
    When the earthquake of October 2005 struck the mountainous regions of Kashmir, it caused thousands of deaths and left millions homeless. The ICRC found itself in a race against time to help the sufferers. Eight-year-old Sony is one of the evacuees - his hand is saved by an operation in Muzaffarabad Field Hospital.
    (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\From the field)
    ICRC film Includes Video

Interview
    27-8-2010
    Kenya: joining efforts to deliver emergency aid to Pakistan
    Since the beginning of the crisis in Pakistan, the ICRC has done its utmost to deliver emergency aid, using all its available resources, including in Africa. The head of the ICRC's Regional Logistics Centre in Nairobi, Philippe Mons, explains how his team has been involved.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya)
    Interview Includes Photo

    29-10-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC supports medical facilities in Waziristan
    The ICRC has no direct access to Waziristan or to the adjacent areas to which most of the population has fled. However, the organization is helping thousands of victims of the fighting through its indirect assistance to eight medical facilities inside Waziristan. An interview with the health delegate who has been running this support programme, Rosanna Magoga.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Interview Includes Photo

    23-10-2009
    Pakistan: protection of civilians a priority as violence grows
    The human cost of violence in Pakistan is continuing to rise. Military operations in South Waziristan and a spate of suicide attacks have resulted in more prisoners, displaced people and casualties, particularly civilians. Humanitarian agencies are unable to operate in Waziristan, where up to 60,000 people are said to have fled their homes. The most pressing needs are protection from violence, compliance with the basic principles of humanitarian law, protection for detainees, access for humanitarian agencies and aid for those in need. An interview with Jacques de Maio, ICRC head of operations for south Asia.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Interview Includes Photo

    6-10-2009
    Pakistan: protecting detainees a priority
    The humanitarian situation in northern Pakistan remains precarious. In addition to being able to help civilians affected by the fighting, the ICRC absolutely must have access to people detained in connection with army and police operations. ICRC head of delegation Pascal Cuttat explains.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Interview Includes Photo

Operational update
    24-8-2010
    Pakistan: significantly increased aid for flood victims
    As more areas in the south succumb to the flooding, the ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent have increased the geographical scope of their food distributions, and continue to restore water supplies and provide health care in the north-western areas where floodwaters are slowly receding.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    19-8-2010
    Pakistan: ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent ramp up aid effort as floods spread to south
    Torrential rains and successive waves of floodwaters are hampering relief efforts and placing lives at risk. The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent, already bringing aid to more than 250,000 people, are determined to meet the needs of several hundred thousand more.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    13-8-2010
    Pakistan: no respite in devastating floods
    The scale of the devastation wrought by the current flooding in Pakistan is staggering, and the resulting needs are daunting. This is an update on the relief effort undertaken by the Pakistan Red Crescent and the ICRC for hundreds of thousands of people.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    23-11-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent supporting health-care services for victims of Waziristan violence
    The ICRC is supporting mobile health units of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society operating in Dera Ismail Khan and Ministry of Health facilities in Waziristan, an area where the ICRC itself does not at present have direct access.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update

    22-9-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent assist displaced and returnees
    The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society continue to assist displaced people and those who have already returned to their home areas.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    4-9-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC and Red Crescent respond to needs in North West Frontier Province as returns continue
    Tens of thousands of civilians continue to return to their homes in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan after months of displacement. Many are encountering difficult conditions.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    19-8-2009
    Pakistan: ongoing support for people affected by displacement
    Although hundreds of thousands of people have returned to the North-West Frontier Province in the last few weeks, many are finding it hard to get back to their homes. The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent are working to assist them in this fraught situation.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update

    13-8-2009
    Pakistan: a challenging homecoming in the North-West Frontier Province
    Though hundreds of thousands of people are gradually returning to the North-West Frontier Province after months of displacement, the situation remains difficult. The ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent are helping these people to cope, while addressing the most urgent needs of the newly displaced.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update Includes Photo

    6-8-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC assists Waziri displaced for first time
    This week, the ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society are providing food and other essential items for over 2,500 people who have fled Waziristan. Humanitarian operations in NWFP and other parts of the country are ongoing.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Pakistan)
    Operational update

Photo Collection
    26-10-2009
    Pakistan: ICRC and Red Crescent help people displaced by violence in North-West Frontier Province
    As thousands flee fighting in the south of Waziristan, the ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent continue to help people displaced in the north of the country over the last six months. A large percentage have been able to go home, but violence is continuing, and is still forcing many to remain in camps in North-West Frontier Province.
    (Info resources\Photos\Asia and the Pacific)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    26-6-2009
    Pakistan: civilians struggle as fighting continues around them
    Some 2.5 million people have fled the fighting in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan since early May. They are staying with host families or in camps outside areas directly affected by the fighting, often with extremely limited access to clean water, electricity, medical care and communications.
    (Info resources\Photos\Asia and the Pacific)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

    30-3-2009
    Pakistan: caring for people wounded by fighting along the Afghan border
    Fighting along the northern stretch of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has intensified over the past eight months. Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to leave the conflict zones to seek refuge in safer places, and the number of people wounded by the fighting has increased. The ICRC has stepped up its surgical and physical rehabilitation activities, particularly in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province.
    (Info resources\Photos\Asia and the Pacific)
    Photo Collection Includes Photo

Press briefing
    1-4-2009
    Afghanistan/Pakistan: put the humanitarian factor on the agenda
    Just before the conference on Afghanistan and Pakistan in The Hague, ICRC head of operations for South Asia Jacques de Maio called for humanitarian considerations to be high on the agenda.
    (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Afghanistan)
    Press briefing Includes Photo

Video Collection
    27-7-2010
    Pakistan: journalists saving lives with the ICRC and Pakistan Red Crescent
    So far in 2010, over 2,000 people have been injured and 930 killed in bomb blasts across Pakistan. To help the country's emergency services deal with the high number of wounded, the ICRC and the Pakistan Red Crescent Society have trained journalists in first aid. The sessions in Peshawar were specifically designed for tribal journalists working in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
    (Info resources\Video)
    Video Collection Includes Video

    27-11-2009
    Pakistan: getting ready for winter in Malakand Division
    Following a period of intense fighting in the North West Frontier Province, many residents are today returning to their homes in the Malakand Division. They unfortunately too often find their crops and livestock destroyed. The ICRC and the Pakistani Red Crescent are delivering wheat seed and fertilizer to over 315,000 people in Dir and Buner districts in an effort to overcome economic hardship and help them become self-reliant again. Food will also be distributed to those most in need.
    (Info resources\Video)
    Video Collection Includes Video

    18-5-2009
    Pakistan: Alina's Story
    Ten-year-old Alina lives in Khyber Agency in north-west Pakistan. At the ICRC'S field hospital in Peshawar she remembers the day when she was going out to play and a sudden massive explosion knocked her unconscious. The bomb killed her friend outright and left Alina badly wounded – both casualties of the fighting in the region which is taking a heavy toll on civilians.
    (Info resources\Video)
    Video Collection Includes Video

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2-09-2010