ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Markets, bazaars and shopping districts in southern Pakistan's Sindh province have staged a shut down after nationalist parties called for a protest against the arrival of people fleeing the Pakistan army's operations in North Waziristan.
About one million people, including 165 families of Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists, have been displaced from lawless North Waziristan following an invasion on 15 June by the Pakistan army aimed at eradicating the Pakistani Taliban’s mother network, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Road vehicles were scant as scores of nationalists staged sit-ins on the main highway connecting the province with the rest of the country.
Members of nationalist parties wielding sticks forced some shopkeepers to pull their shutters down in Hyderabad, the second largest city in Sindh, as well as more a dozen other districts on Tuesday.
- Demography 'threatened'
However, Karachi the provincial capital, and the country’s commercial hub, gave a lukewarm response to the strike call.
Various nationalist parties recently formed a “Save Sindh Alliance” to resist the arrival of people fleeing North Waziristan.
The call was particularly strong in Karachi, which has always been an ideal destination for people from the country’s underdeveloped areas due to better employment opportunities.
The nationalist alliance argues that the arrival of displaced people will create law and order problems and affect the demography of the province, which is already under threat.
- 'Bearing the brunt'
Ayaz Latif Paleejo, a leader of the nationalist alliance, said: "Militants can enter Sindh under the guise of IDPs (internally displaced persons). Therefore, they should not be allowed to get into Sindh and be catered for by the nearest places to North Waziristan."
"The Sindh has already been bearing the brunt of over two million illegal immigrants. It cannot afford people from outside anymore."
The illegal immigrants mostly come from Afghanistan, Burma and Bangladesh.
The Sindh police said they had arrested eight suspected militants at the border of Sindh as they were trying to infiltrate under the guise of IDPs.
- Migration fears
The bulk of the displaced people are being hosted by the adjoining Bannu district, while a few have opted for other cities.
Security and political experts fear that if the Pakistan army operation continues for a longer period, then displaced people may migrate to other parts of the city, particularly Karachi where employment opportunities are abundant, compared to small cities and towns.
The influx of immigrants in the big cities will not only add to the population burden, but will also create tension between the locals and displaced people over jobs, and resources distribution, experts say.
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