Border war: 300 denied entry into hometown

Villagers say they need shelter and supplies from home; security forces say cleanup operation is ongoing.

TIMARGARA:

Security forces here on Sunday refused to allow more than 300 families to leave for Kharkai, a village in Lower Dir District near the Pak-Afghan border.

Kharkai village was vacated when militants intruded into Pakistani territories from Afghanistan’s Kunar province and attacked a security check-post at dawn on April 22, killing at least 16 people policemen and frontier constabulary.

Official sources said that the displaced people took shelter in different parts of the district, mostly in their relatives’ houses, just after the pre-dawn attack. The area is yet to be cleared and threats of another attack cannot be ruled out, they added.

The said the district administration remained silent over the displacement and is yet to provide shelter to those still stranded in the area.

“Most of the displaced persons can hardly manage to make both ends meet, how can we rent a place? We have children with us and are worried about them as well,” said Zardad Khan, 62.

He added, “We have our precious belongings there along with some daily-use items, we are not allowed even to collect our belongings.”

Another official, asking not to be named, said that security forces are busy clearing the area and that this is the only reason why people’s movement in these areas is restricted.

Quoting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti during his visit to Dir, the official said that militants have established sanctuaries in the Kunar and Nooristan province of Afghanistan, where the insurgents intrude from.

Militants not only attacked Kharkai village in Lower Dir but also crossed the border on May 2 and attacked a police check post in Darosh area of Chitral District.

Later on June 2, militants attacked the Sunai Dara, Shaltalo and Nusrat Darra areas of Upper Dir, while the latest intrusion took place early on Friday morning, when hundreds of insurgents crossed the border in Bajaur Agency and killed at least two in Mamond village.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2011.