Military operation: Destroyed village rebuilt, residents handed back keys

Chagh Malaie once a hub of militants, suffered heavy collateral damage.

PESHAWAR:

The increase in anti-state activities in South Waziristan Agency led the government to launch a military onslaught in the agency in October 2009. The massive operation saw several militant leaders and their accomplices either killed or captured.

Sources said there were a number of villages that were targeted in the military operation which resulted in heavy collateral damage, but Chag Malaie, a village once considered a Taliban stronghold, was the worst affected.

“Chagh Malaie was considered to be a hub of militants; a place where they used to hold meetings and plan future strategies,” a source said on condition of anonymity.

He said buildings and homes were badly damaged in the area when militants were targetted.

“But now the army has rebuilt all the damaged houses and even shops in the area,” they said.

When contacted by The Express Tribune, Colonel Nadeem at Inter Services Public Relations also confirmed the reports.

He said Mehsud tribesmen lived there and while collateral damage had occurred, reconstruction of the damaged schools, houses, shops and roads has been completed and the keys have been provided to the owners.

“Not only have we repaired and rebuilt damaged buildings, but have also provided them with a proper setup of Basic Health Units, a facility that residents of the area had never seen before,” he said.

“We have provided the schools with computer labs, set up poultry farms and even petrol pumps in the village,” the official added.

Residents of South Waziristan Agency have started repatriating to their homes as most of the areas have been cleared of militants but there are still thousands of people waiting to return. Army officials say they won’t take any risk and will ask the people to return once the areas are secure.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2011.