WORLD BRIDGE BLOG

There is a sense in Washington that the magnitude of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Pakistan hasn't been fully grasped yet. The latest offensive by the Pakistani military has forced one and a half million people to leave the Swat and Buner districts in less than three weeks. The UN Refugee Agency stated that the fighting is uprooting more people faster than any conflict since the Rwandan genocide. Even before the most recent military operations, half a million people had fled from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

Thus, this conflict has displaced two million people in a country vital to the security interests of the United States. Yet, the media coverage, the political attention and the Obama administration’s response have not been commensurate with the scale and scope of the crisis.

Humanitarian organizations have an obligation to bring attention to situations which the international community ignores – the Congo's deadly civil war or Somalia's two decades of misery come to mind. This is inherent in our mandates. But the lack of engagement by the U.S. government is more inexplicable and frustrating in Pakistan, which is one of the largest recipients of U.S. military and economic assistance. This is not a humanitarian disaster happening in a remote location in a political vacuum.

Displaced Pakistanis – half of whom are children under 18 – are fleeing a conflict between the Pakistani military and Taliban groups intent on challenging the authority of governmental institutions. This is Pakistan's war – and the government's legitimacy and credibility with its own people is at stake. But the U.S. bears a special responsibility to assist Pakistan in responding to the plight of civilian victims. It may not be officially branded the Global War on Terror anymore, but the new administration has been publicly calling for a show of force against Taliban militants, and it must respond more forcefully to the millions of people now marooned in camps or struggling with families in overcrowded homes.

The government of Pakistan is and will remain responsible for the protection of its own citizens. There are no American troops engaged either in combat operations or providing relief. But there's little doubt that this is a fight which has U.S. fingerprints, and there needs to be greater accountability in dealing with civilian victims of the conflict.

The response so far has been late and somewhat tepid. Secretary Clinton announced last week (17 days after the start of the latest military offensive) a package of aid totaling $110 million. This is a positive step – but just three days later the UN launched a $500 million appeal to assist 1.5 million victims of conflict until the end of the year. The number of estimated beneficiaries was already obsolete before the appeal was even launched, and aid workers are concerned over rising numbers of displaced people and a prolonged crisis.

Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke has been a vocal advocate for displaced Pakistanis, telling the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on May 12th that there was a "major refugee crisis" which the U.S. government should not ignore. Strikingly, Senators present at the hearing did not pick up this point and pressed him further on military and political matters.

By not responding aggressively to the humanitarian consequences, the Obama administration risks incurring the wrath of public opinion and alienating millions of Pakistanis that it wants to win over. It should allocate greater funding for the humanitarian response, publicly express concerns over the protection of civilians, and appoint key staff to monitor the relief effort over the next several months.

The most important of these appointments should be the Administrator of USAID. This agency houses the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, which is tasked to respond to emergencies and internal displacement crises. If the recent swine flu scare helped speed the confirmation of President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, this Pakistan crisis should be an opportunity to push for immediate nomination of a new leader for USAID.

Pakistan should be a wake up call.