Tribal Jirga: N Waziristan IDPs demand firm date for repatriation

Tribal elders appeal leaders of all political parties to join them in their Islamabad sit-in for sake of their rights


Our Correspondent March 13, 2015
Men fleeing a military offensive wait outside a registration point for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Dera Ismail Khan. PHOTO: REUTERS

BANNU:


The elders of Utmanzai tribe of North Waziristan in Bannu threatened the government with a sit-in in Islamabad if it failed to give them a firm date for their repatriation.


This was decided at a Jirga held at Bannu Township Hall, comprising elders of the Utmanzai tribes of Wazir and Mehsud of North Waziristan on Thursday. The jirga was headed by Malik Nasrullah Khan and a large number of tribal elders and tribesmen from both the tribes participated.

The elders decided that they would hold a grand tribal jirga outside Fata Secretariat office in Peshawar on March 16 to press government to fix a final date for their return home.



“Government must stop playing with the feelings of IDPs by changing repatriation date again and again,” Malik Nasrullah Khan said. “Such practices are increasing unrest among the IDPs about their return.”

Sher Muhammad Khan, Malik Khan Marjan, Malik Aman Ullah Khan and Malik Habibullah Khan were also present on the occasion.

The tribal elders said that if government fails to give them a final repatriation date on March 16 during their Jirga outside Fata Secretariat, they would then go towards Islamabad to stage a protest sit-in to press for their demands.

They said they were spending a miserable life in the camps and their children were being deprived of education due to the displacement, adding that now they will take every step they could to achieve their due rights.

The tribal elders also appealed the leaders of all political parties to join them in their Islamabad sit-in for the sake of their rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2015.

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