Sidelined: IDPs from Spin Wam seek relief

Claim they were partially displaced, need funds urgently

PESHAWAR:

Representatives of over 90 families from Shahshi Khel village of Spin Wam tehsil, North Waziristan, set up a protest camp over the government’s failure to pay their post-repatriation relief packages.

The camp was set up on Friday and continued till Saturday. Zardali Khan, Qayyub Khan, Fazal Khan and Muhammad Gul were present along with several other representatives to fight for their families’ compensation.

Zardali Khan told The Express Tribune they moved to native areas following a government order. He added the tribespeople spent more than nine months away from their homes. He said when the government decided to repatriate displaced people, the residents of Spin Wam were picked first for the process. “They received SIM and ATM cards along with other gifts from the Punjab government and other departments,” he said.

The elder quoted FDMA officials as saying that the returning tribespeople will get a Rs10,000 travel allowance through a SIM, while another Rs25,000 could be withdrawn from ATM cards as part of a relief package. He added they were given the monthly IDP package of Rs12,000 in April, but the amounts for February and March remain pending.

Zardali said they were also yet to get the amounts promised through SIM and ATM cards. He found it shocking that others had been granted these packages, but these 90 families were deprived.

The elders said they complained to the FDMA, but were told the governor and other political authorities have directed the administration not to release the amount for people from Spin Wam,  Shiwa, Razmak, Dosali and Garyon tehsils as they were not displaced. However, the tribespeople argue that they were, in fact, partially displaced.

Zardali Khan argued he had the contacts, names and CNIC numbers of 110 families from Shahshi Khel; all of whom left their native areas on government directives. He recalled that all these individuals have provided details to their respective political officer who sent them to the FDMA after proper verification.

Elders said they access the governor the political agent and were left with no choice but to start a peaceful protest for their rights. The tribespeople said they were confronted with food and water problems along with a shortage of medicines. They added the release of the pending amounts would be a great support from the government.

They appealed to the army chief, governor and other relevant authorities to provide them with the pending relief to settle all issues. Representatives of the Pakhtun Students Federation and FATA Student Federation were also present on the occasion and pledged their support for the displaced people.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2015.