Away from home: NWA IDPs demand repatriation

PESHAWAR: The Waziristan Qaumi Jirga has urged the federal government to immediately announce a repatriation schedule for people displaced from North Waziristan Agency (NWA) due to Operation Zarb-e-Azb. Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, jirga elders said tribesmen have always cooperated with the government and will continue to extend their support in future as well. The elders said being away from their home, the displaced tribespeople  are facing a number of problems including health complications and discontinuation of their children’s education. The qaumi jirga also accused the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of collecting Rs5 million in tax from the FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA). “The money was meant to be distributed among IDPs but the FBR has taken it,” claimed Malik Naseem Wazir, a jirga member.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2015.