Afghan p0litical parties:
Afghan p0litical parties:
The g0vernment 0f Pakistan set up and managed the
administrative system 0f the refugee villages al0ng lines
similar t0 its 0wn hierarchically structured district
administrati0n. F0r example, the C0mmissi0nerate f0r Afghan Refugees, thr0ugh its
pr0vincial c0mmittees, c00rdinated pr0grams with d0n0r and UN agencies as well as with the camps.
Thus, m0st 0f these pr0jects were implement under the auspices 0f the C0mmissi0nerate
in c0llab0rati0n with pr0vincial line departments, the UNHCR, and internati0nal n0ng0vernmental
0rganizati0ns (NG0s). This c0mplex structure, c0nnecting the g0vernment fr0m the federal t0 the village level, n0t 0nly
made administering and managing refugees easy but als0 helped
place a web 0f c0ntr0l 0ver a maj0rity 0f refugees living in refugee camps. The rep0rting
and c0ntr0l pr0cedures inv0lved n0t 0nly the creati0n 0f the Afghan Refugee C0mmissi0nerate with
the g0vernment but als0 interlink ages between the different levels 0f
administrat0rs 0f refugees with pr0vincial h0me ministries and the interi0r
ministry at the federal level. The latter in turn was in cl0se c0ntact
with the ISI, the main military intelligence agency inv0lved in
Afghan 0perati0ns. The ISI was cl0sely ass0ciated with the seven Pakistan-based Afghan p0litical
parties 0f the mujahedeen, wh0m it had helped spawn[1].
At the camp level, pr0vincial
line departments in c00rdinati0n with camp administrat0rs w0rked
with vari0us Afghan app0intees Milk’s
(respected figures/leaders) at the camps. The Malik’s were resp0nsible
f0r the distributi0n 0f f00d and material aid, 0verseeing
c0mmunity health, water, and educati0n amenities,
and acting as sp0kespers0ns f0r their camps. 0thers t00k resp0nsibility f0r the administrati0n 0f m0sques and sch00ls (where they kept a watchful eye 0n the
curricula and ensured the implementati0n 0f fat
was religi0us decrees. The Malik’s wielded en0rm0us p0wer 0ver
camp refugees lives in b0th the material and spiritual c0ntexts.
All benefits were channeled thr0ugh a patr0nage system that they c0ntr0lled as
pers0ns in charge 0f the distributi0n 0f aid t0 refugees and with s0me
degree 0f c0ntr0l 0ver h0w refugees c0uld read and practice religi0n in
their daily lives. The Malik’s were all allied cl0sely with Afghan p0litical parties. Perhaps this is why several refugees
I interviewed c0mplained that the Malik’s were n0t fr0m
traditi0nally p0werful influential families. They were the
creati0ns 0f the Pakistan g0vernment. Be that as it may the p0int is that refugee supp0rt was
tied directly t0 the war t0 eliminate the S0viet presence in Afghanistan; the system 0f c0ntr0l
within camps was effective because it made everyday survival c0ntingent up0n the 0bservati0n 0f certain m0res. Refugee men c0uld be m0bilized t0 g0 back t0 fight in Afghanistan in return f0r f00d, shelter, and security f0r their
families. Registrati0n was a p0werful t00l in the hands 0f the Pakistan g0vernment and its f0reign supp0rters. Each refugee h0useh0ld was required t0 register and declare p0litical
allegiance t0 a tanzim-
p0litical party as a prec0nditi0n f0r eligibility t0 receive f00d, shelter and security[2].
[1]
Jamil.H.Kazim&Kavita Pandit, “The impact 0f Refugees M0vement 0n the
Ge0graphy 0f Malaria in NWFP, Pakistan, ”Scienc&Medicine,
V0l.52 (April 2001),1043-1055.
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