Jirga calls for repatriation of Waziristan IDPs

Calls upon govt to wind up operation as soon as possible

ISLAMABAD:

A grand Jirga demanded on Saturday the government repatriate the tribal families displaced by the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan Agency to 90% of the area the military claims to have cleansed of Taliban militants.

Hundreds of thousands of tribesmen were uprooted from their homes when the military launched a massive operation, Zarb-e-Azb, against militants in North Waziristan in mid-June. These tribesmen, officially designated as internally displaced persons, or IDPs, have been living in shelter camps set up by the government and with their relatives elsewhere in the country.

A large number of tribal elders, IDPs, representatives of political parties from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, except for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) attended the Jirga sponsored by Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.

The Jirga released an eight-point joint communiqué, demanding immediate repatriation of the IDPs to the areas cleared by the military. It also called upon the government and the military establishment to wind up the operation as soon as possible so that the IDPs could return to their homes to start rehabilitation work.

The Jirga sought a comprehensive assistance package for the heirs of those killed and injured during the operation or due to militant violence. It said the government should take steps for establishing educational institutions and industrial zones in the entire tribal belt for enhancing socio-economic conditions of the tribal people.



It also called upon the government to strengthen the Jirga system in the tribal belt for resolving local feuds and disputes. Additionally, the Jirga called for highlighting the problems of IDPs through print and electronic media.

Speaking to the media at the conclusion of the Jirga, Maulana Fazl said the ongoing war was imposed on the tribal areas at the behest of someone. “I want to tell the world that this war is not our war,” he said, adding that the tribal people have always been in the line of fire in proxy wars.

Earlier while addressing the Jirga, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan said the issues of the IDPs were multiplying but regrettably neither the centre nor the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government was interested in addressing them. “When IDPs started pouring into K-P, a drama was staged at D-Chowk to divert the people’s attention from the plight of these tribesmen,” he alleged.

Asfandyar said that these displaced tribesmen must be given the respect they deserve. “If you will try to push them to the wall, then they will never surrender,” he said, adding that the tribal people must be taken on board on any future decision about them.

PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai has proposed a separate province for the tribal people where they could elect their own representatives. This is how the tribal people could be brought into the political mainstream, he added.

Qaumi Wattan Party leader Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the entire nation was oblivious of the plight of the IDPs and focused on the D-Chowk container. He was referring to the protest sit-in of the PTI.

Meanwhile, Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Abdul Qadir Baloch, who has been tasked by the prime minister to look after the IDPs, said that the PTI-led provincial government should join hands with the Centre to alleviate the suffering of the displaced tribesmen.

Speaking to the media at the Bakka Khel IDPs camp in Bannu, Baloch said the Pakistani nation was united to help the IDPs. He added that the government would do more to facilitate the IDPs. Referring to the recent baton charge of the IDPs by the police at the Bannu camp, Baloch said the provincial government was to blame and the Centre had no role in it. The PML-N leadership was even forced to stage a sit-in against the incident, he added.

While Baloch was visiting the camp, a fire broke out in one of the tents which quickly spread to nearby tents, according to an administrator. By the time, fire tenders reached the site 10 camps had already been reduced to ashes, he added. No loss of life was reported, though.


Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2014.