IDP registration at Jalozai camp suspended temporarily

Registration process for Internally Displaced People (IDPs) was suspended after unknown men opened fire at people.

PESHAWAR: The registration process for the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) was suspended after unknown men opened fire at people gathered for registration in the Jalozai camp, injuring three on Monday officials said.

IDP’s belonging to Akakhel and Qambarkhel Afridi sub-tribes of Bara,Khyber agency were standing in long queues at a registration point to register their families so as to receive accommodation and food at the camp, when when some unknown persons opened fire and injured three people. Security officials rushed to the site and arrested six suspected persons.

“The gunfire took place among the people gathered for registration” said an official.

Following the incident, some IDPs staged a protest. However, police used tear gas and fired aerial shots to disperse the gathered agitated crowd. However, they instead turned on the police and hurled stones at the law men, damaging a vehicle.

The Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Shahzad Khan Bangash, while suspending the registration process for the displaced of Bara, ordered an inquiry into the matter. “The registration has been suspended but will resume in a couple of days,” said a statement by the PDMA. The registration counters and staff at these points will also be increased he said as the influx of people is much higher.

Almost 19,490 people have been registered in the camp so far. While some 8,644 families will be residing in the camp, the rest said they would be moving in with their relatives. The camp is already home to 1100 families from Bajaur, and 500 families from Mohamand, totalling to 10244 families residing in Jalozai.