The latest episode of Sabawoon, flagship radio program of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), focused on the problems of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bannu, revival of sports activities in Fedeally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and the problems of farmers in Charsadda. The program also highlighted the issues of local residents due to lack of communication facilities in Kurram Agency.

The program, under the theme “Da Semi Jaaj” (regional review) was aired on Tuesday. Mr. Imran Wazir, spokesperson of Federal Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) and Mr. Shahid Shinwari, organizer of FATA Olympic Association shared their views as guests on telephone.

Five radio reports from different parts of KP and FATA related to program’s central themes were made the part of the program.

The first report presented the prevailing situation of Waziristan Agency’s IDPs residing in Bannu. The report stated that approximately 200 families were there in Bannu and they had been banned by the government from getting financial support and food ration for the last five months. They were living miserable lives in rented houses and had no financial backup to support their expenses. The report added that these IDPs were struggling to get employed. To bring their issues to governement’s notice, they had staged a strike against the political administration and FDMA.

The IDPs said that they had held several meetings with the political administration but no action has been taken by them so far.

The second report shed light on the farmers’ problem in Charsadda district. The report quoted that 80 percent people of Charsadda were dependent on agriculture sector but due to no rains and water shortages, 50 percent of the crops were affected this year. This has bankrupted the farmers and they are helpless to find a solution to this problem.

Mr. Haleem Ullah, a local farmer in Charsadda, said: “We don’t have any proper system to water the corps. The rivers are dried up and there are no rains. I am afraid that we will not be able to harvest wheat this season as the climate is not favorable and consequently we can face financial constraints.”

The third report was about the revival of sports and peace building activities in FATA. The report noted that to promote and sustain the sprit of sports in the region and empower the youth, FATA Olympic Association will organize sports festival in the coming month. Under this event, ten different games will be played in different agencies to enhance the spirit of sports among youth with an ultimate objective of revitalizating peace and harmony in the region.

The fourth report shed light on the literary gathering organized in district Swat. The gathering was organized by a social sector organization with the aim of promoting peacebuilding activities in the region. The report said that the Swat region faced many problems during the Talibans’ reign, due to which peace was seriously disturbed. Several poets and experts shared their poetry about the sacrifices of the public to promote and sustain peace in the region. Young poets and writers also participated in the gathering.

The final report focused on the role of communication technologies in the modern world and the problem faced by the residents of Kurram Agency due to the lack of communication facilities. The report said that a telephone exchange was constructed in 2006 in Kurram Agency but it was no more functional. Transformers and batteries were missing. Moreover, there was precious machinery which was wearing out. Doors were broken and valuable equipment were demaged. The telephone exchange provides connections to 400 consumers but now thousands of others need this service. Internet is a basic need and every village has many potential consumers of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL). But unfortunately this exchange does not provide such facility. People has to go to Sadda and Tal for this purpose. Mobile service is available only in few areas of the agency and that too is not sufficient to fulfil the needs of the locals.

Show Guests:

Imran Wazir, FDMA Spokeperson at Peshawar, said: “I have personally met the representatives of IDPs. I agree that they are facing sevrious issues but according to the FDMA’s criteria, some of them can not be considered as IDPs. These are systemic errors and we are working to resolve these. In addition, most of them have identity verification issues. They have double or wrong addresses due to which the system shows error in their verification. I am optimistic that we will soon get rid of these issues.”

The second guest Mr. Shahid Shinwari, organizer of FATA Olympics Association, noted: “These games are organzied for the improvement of sports activities in FATA by engaging the young generation. We will arrange ten different games throughout FATA. The games will start on December 10, 2016 with the name of Khyber Peace Games. Female games will be organized in Peshawar because FATA is not a condusive place for women to play sports.”

Live Callers on the Show:

Two callers took part in the show live and requested the government authorities to overcome power shortages as this problem had made lives of people miserable.

Abdul Manan, a caller from Charsadda: “Weather is dry and we are facing water shortages. Government has installed a water tube well but it’s not working. We request the authorities to help us in such circumstances.”

Niaz Ali, a caller from Mohmand Agency: “We are facing power shortage. Even in winters we have 18-20 hours load shedding.”