Migrating in panic: Clashes lead to village abandonment

QUETTA: People in Zaren Bug village of Dasht area started migrating to Gwadar, Turbat, Karachi and elsewhere after fierce clashes erupted between militants and security forces in nearby mountainous area. Locals panicked and were forced to sell their properties and livestock at throwaway prices after the security forces launched an operation against militants. Sources said that the village had at least 500 houses and most of the people there were farmers. Chairman of the Kech District Council Fida Hussain Dashti said that with the exception of Zaren Bug, people of Mulae Nagor, Jan Mohammad Bazar and adjacent areas had migrated towards other peaceful places. The people are migrating of their own free will and there is no government effort to help them settle elsewhere. Security forces moved in and set up check posts in the Zaren Bug area, while the civilian administration of Dasht and nearby areas opted to move their offices to District Headquarters in Turbat.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2016.