Anjum Niaz Connecting the Dots

Now connect the dots: IDPs figures are daily being hyped up by the NWFP government and the UN agencies. The former has doubled its earlier estimates, warning of an influx of 2.5 million IDPs, while the UNHCR puts it at a million plus. What both have done in their calculations is to include the old number of 553,929 IDPs who had already left their homes long before May 1 army action. These folks are regularly receiving their relief package as per the information put up by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) website. According to this website, the total number of new IDPs is just 56,298 individuals (living in camps) and 428,789 individuals (living outside the camps on their own).

Can all the three organisations please stand up and tell us which figure is correct? Why is there such a big gap between the NDMA and the other two? We need answers before we jump to the conclusion that someone, somewhere is making mega-bucks by presenting dummy IDPs who only exist on paper. Someone is skimming off their hefty relief package! Imran Khan where are you? Can you nail the culprits?