‘Illegal domiciles’: FR Tank’s Bhittani tribe to boycott polio drive

DI KHAN:

The Bhittani tribe of Frontier Region (FR) Tank has decided to boycott polio vaccination drives till the political administration stops issuing “illegal” domiciles to Bhittani tribesmen living in Tank district.

The tribe has been protesting against the political administration for the past six days over the issue which it says has been ongoing for the past six months.

The decision to boycott the polio drive was taken at a jirga held in Jandola on Saturday.

“We have repeatedly filed complaints and held protests, but no action has been taken,” Malik Rifatullah, an elder who participated in the jirga, told The Express Tribune.

According to Rifatullah, the tribe is not against polio vaccination; it has only decided to boycott immunisation to draw the government’s attention toward their problem.

According to tribespeople, the political administration is involved in issuing domiciles to people who live in Tank district. “Members of the Bhittani tribe who do not live or own land in FR Tank have illegally obtained the tribal area’s domiciles and are availing privileges such as government jobs,” Malik Resham Khan, another elder, said.

He claimed the quota set aside for government jobs and educational institutes for Fata’s people is being violated by this practice.

The protesting tribe has demanded a verification of all domiciles issued from the political administration to members of Bhittani tribe from Tank district as well as to people living elsewhere in the country.

However, an official of the political administration said these allegations are baseless. “If illegal domiciles have been issued, we will conduct an investigation and take action against the culprits,” he said.

The official added the polio campaign will go on unaffected.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2015.