Equal compensation for martyrs sought

PHC admits petition, issues notices to respondents

PESHAWAR: As the US launched another spell of drone strikes in Pakistani territory, two families who have suffered from them have approached a court seeking compensation under the Shuhada package for their family members.

On December 31, 2012, the house of the petitioner came under attack from an unmanned aerial combat vehicle (UCAV) in the Tirah Valley, on the confluence of the Khyber, Kurram and Orakzai agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). The attack left 13 people of two families, including three children, dead while injuring five others.



However, the relatives of the victims told the Peshawar High Court that they have not been provided with any compensation by the government like other martyrs of the country.

“We were just provided Rs300,000 as compensation for each family member martyred in the attack,” contended petitioner Aziz Khan in a writ petition. The petition was filed through Advocate Qabil Shah. The petitioner urged the court to direct the government to provide them with Rs1 million as compensation in line with the Shuhada package of the government.

The petitioner also asked the court for Rs500,000 as compensation for each of the five family members injured and to rebuild their homes and other property which had been damaged due to the attack.



They listed the Federation of Pakistan through the interior minister, secretaries of defence, finance, the K-P government, K-P governor, Fata additional chief secretary, and the political agent of Khyber Agency as the respondent in the case.  The court accepted their petition for hearing and directed the respondents to submit replies in the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2018.