Homecoming: Registration begins as SWA IDPs pack bags to return home

To continue until March 11, repatriation to begin by March 16.

DI KHAN: Registration of South Waziristan Agency’s displaced persons has begun at its political compound in Tank.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, an SWA political administration (PA) official said the process began on Sunday and will continue until March 11, with approximately 8,000 families slated to return to 14 villages of the agency.

IDPs are breathing a sigh of relief as their six-year-long displacement comes to an end. The exodus of tribespeople from SWA began in 2009 when Pakistan Army launched Operation Rah-e-Nijat against militants.



“The repatriation will begin from March 16 for which all arrangements have already been made,” the official said, adding the IDPs will return to eight villages in Sarwakai tehsil and six in Sararogha tehsil. The PA official said each family will be provided a stipend of Rs25,000 and edibles sufficient for six months. “We will also provide free transportation facilities,” he said.

The registration process, much to the delight of returning tribespeople from across the country, is in full swing. A large number of families have already arrived from Karachi, but lack of appropriate documents remains a problem. Abdul Majid, an IDP who returned all the way from Karachi, told The Express Tribune that authorities will only issue the Watan Card and travel permit to him. “I have a CNIC issue hence have been denied other promised privileges,” he said.

SWA Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl MNA Maulana Jamaluddin said the IDPs have travelled from one city to another in search of facilities in their own country. Demanding registration papers and CNICs will only add to their humiliation. “I had raised the issue with federal minister Abdul Qadir Baloch and Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad. They promised to look into the matter but no arrangements have been made to facilitate those who are not in possession of CNICs,” he said.

A total of 11,924 families out of 79,000 have so far returned to their homes after the military offensive ended in approximately five months. Another PA official said between 2009 and 2013, 107,000 families were registered and their data was forwarded to the National Database and Registration Authority. “CNICs have been issued to 67,500 so far,” he added. Centralisation of data collection has been a perennial issue with the IDPs as figures from the Federal Disaster Management Authority, political administrations and security forces contradict each other.

“Infrastructural development projects are under way in the hometowns of the returning IDPs,” said SWA Political Agent Islam Zeb, while speaking to the media. “The government is well aware of the miseries of Mehsud tribespeople. It is time we employ all resources at our disposal and bring the neglected people into the mainstream,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2015.