Flag meeting: Wazir tribe’s repatriation resumes

Pak-Afghan authorities exchange list of those still living in Afghan camps

PESHAWAR: Pakistan and Afghanistan in a flag meeting between civil and military leadership on Sunday have agreed in principle that the repatriation process of Wazir tribesmen who had fled to Afghanistan due to military operation in the agency will be resumed from Monday (today).

The one-point flag meeting was attended by assistant political agent North Waziristan Anwar Sherani, Ghulam Khan political agent Muharrar Ghani Khan and two Colonels from the Afghan side.

The two sides also exchanged the list of those still living on Afghan soil in camps.

Repatriation policy endorsed without key input

Nearly 50,000 people from Shawal, Datta Khel, Ghulam Khan border villages had migrated to Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces on in 2014 due to the military operation in the agency.

Around 3,000 families have since then returned to their villages in North Waziristan in the first phase of the repatriation process conducted by PA office, security forces and border authorities at the Ghulam Khan border.

The home stretch: NWA IDPs begin registering for return

PA North Waziristan Karman Afridi told The Express Tribune that they have informed the Afghan authorities and local Pakistani Wazir, who want to return to their villages should register with border authorities before returning.

They will be screened and asked to live in the Baka Khel IDPs camp in Bannu but will soon be returned to their villages and given a compensation if their houses are fully or partially damaged.

Dividing the load: Voluntary repatriation centre to be opened in city

“Once the process starts we will repatriate all our people who migrated to Khost or Paktika provinces and the last tribe to be repatriated will be Madakhel tribe, who are little anxious about the registration process and resettling in IDPs camps. They want to directly return and this will be possible only after full cooperation from the locals,” Afridi added.

Contrary to what the authorities said, a local journalist told The Express Tribune that the authorities only wanted to go through the screening process to screen out all those tribesmen who are sympathizers of militant groups.

He said that making them stay in Bannu camps was a way to stop such tribesmen from entering in the agencies.