Out of home and hearth: Repatriated tribesmen fear forced evacuation
Orakzai political admin official refutes claims, says only select few being asked.
Tribesmen walk past shelters at the UNHCR internally displaced people camp in Togh Sarai in the tribal district of Hangu on February 13, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
HANGU:
Elders from Khwastorikhel tribe claim Orakzai Agency’s political administration has ordered tribesmen residing in 14 villages in Khwa Darra to vacate their dwellings within three days. However, a political administration official maintained only 30% of the residents are being asked to leave.
Tribesmen told The Express Tribune the political administration has alleged all residents of these villages were repatriated from internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps without proper registration. Resultantly, they say, the administration has asked them to vacate their homes.
Alif Gul, a tribal elder in Lower Orakzai Agency, revealed the 14 villages in question comprise around 1,500 houses. He said tribesmen were repatriated to the villages after the end of a military operation in the agency.
As a result of the political administration’s orders, tribesmen were being forced to seek shelter with relatives in other parts of the agency, Hangu, Kohat and Peshawar, added the elder. Others were renting houses in other cities of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Haji Mina Gul, another elder from the area, expressed his discontent with the administration’s move to force them out. He asserted villagers were loyal to the country and were living peacefully in an area under the security force’s control.
Gul confirmed the political administration had accused all tribesmen in 14 villages of having failed to register before the process of their repatriation. However, refuting the administration’s “baseless” claims, the tribal elder alleged 70% of the population had registered before returning.
Due to the administrations orders, around 20,000 tribesmen will be displaced, according to Malik Jan, another elder, who dubbed the initiative “cruel”.
Elders have appealed to the governor, Peshawar Corps commander, the interior minister and chief of army staff to take notice of the issue.
Meanwhile, political administration official Sher Bahadur refuted the tribal elders’ claims of forced evacuation but confirmed their reports that 70% of the villagers had registered at the time of repatriation.
The remaining population constitutes about 40-50 houses whose residents failed to register initially. The political official claimed these were the only tribesmen who are being ordered to evacuate.
Bahadur claimed that over and above a lack of registration, the fact remains that the specific area being evacuated still houses militants, which is another reason for moving residents out, so security forces can act against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2014.
Elders from Khwastorikhel tribe claim Orakzai Agency’s political administration has ordered tribesmen residing in 14 villages in Khwa Darra to vacate their dwellings within three days. However, a political administration official maintained only 30% of the residents are being asked to leave.
Tribesmen told The Express Tribune the political administration has alleged all residents of these villages were repatriated from internally displaced persons’ (IDP) camps without proper registration. Resultantly, they say, the administration has asked them to vacate their homes.
Alif Gul, a tribal elder in Lower Orakzai Agency, revealed the 14 villages in question comprise around 1,500 houses. He said tribesmen were repatriated to the villages after the end of a military operation in the agency.
As a result of the political administration’s orders, tribesmen were being forced to seek shelter with relatives in other parts of the agency, Hangu, Kohat and Peshawar, added the elder. Others were renting houses in other cities of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Haji Mina Gul, another elder from the area, expressed his discontent with the administration’s move to force them out. He asserted villagers were loyal to the country and were living peacefully in an area under the security force’s control.
Gul confirmed the political administration had accused all tribesmen in 14 villages of having failed to register before the process of their repatriation. However, refuting the administration’s “baseless” claims, the tribal elder alleged 70% of the population had registered before returning.
Due to the administrations orders, around 20,000 tribesmen will be displaced, according to Malik Jan, another elder, who dubbed the initiative “cruel”.
Elders have appealed to the governor, Peshawar Corps commander, the interior minister and chief of army staff to take notice of the issue.
Meanwhile, political administration official Sher Bahadur refuted the tribal elders’ claims of forced evacuation but confirmed their reports that 70% of the villagers had registered at the time of repatriation.
The remaining population constitutes about 40-50 houses whose residents failed to register initially. The political official claimed these were the only tribesmen who are being ordered to evacuate.
Bahadur claimed that over and above a lack of registration, the fact remains that the specific area being evacuated still houses militants, which is another reason for moving residents out, so security forces can act against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2014.