Pak-Afghan Highway reopens after talks

Tribesmen end blockade as govt agrees on repatriation

LANDI KOTAL:

The Pak-Afghan Highway, which was closed by protesting Kokikhel tribesmen, reopened on Wednesday after 65 days of closure.

The tribesmen, led by Malik Naseer Kokikhel, had set up a camp at Bagyari Check Post on the Pak-Afghan Highway to record their protest against the government. Hundreds of tribesmen and political leaders, including Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, former senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, as well as PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl notables, were part of the protest.

Local and provincial leaders, along with people from Khyber district, had supported the Kukikhel tribe's demonstration. The tribesmen were demanding the repatriation of 22,000 displaced families back to their ancestral homes in various areas of Tirah valley, especially Rajgal, a border village with Afghanistan.

During the 65 days of road closures, residents, students, traders and shopkeepers in Landi Kotal, Torkham, Ali Masjid and Shalman areas were severely affected.

Commodity prices went skyrocketing as no truck was allowed to transport goods to and from Peshawar via the Pak-Afghan Highway. Trade with Afghanistan also suffered greatly, inflicting billions of dollars worth of losses on importers and exporters.

Meanwhile, several rounds of talks between Kokikhel elders and officials yielded no results over the past two months.

Malik Naseer told The Express Tribune that after lengthy negotiations, they reached an agreement on Wednesday with the government which promised to send Tirah IDPs back within six months.

He said that from next Monday, the registration of displaced persons would begin and after its completion, displaced families would be allowed to return to their hometown in Tirah soon after the winter season.

The authorities were of the view that military operations were underway in Tirah, so they could not allow the displaced people to return under such circumstances.