Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has asked the federal government to immediately release Rs6 billion to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government.
In a press conference, Khan reiterated that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government should have informed the KP government before starting the operation in North Waziristan so that the KP government could have adequately prepared for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
He said that 350,000 people have fled NWA and the number is expected to double.
“However, Bannu and other areas that people are fleeing to are not adequately prepared to accommodate them,” said Khan.
He said that the operation must be put on hold to facilitate civilians, adding that the government’s allocation of Rs7,000 a month for the families is not enough.
Khan also asked the federal government to meet the provincial government to discuss the issues of IDPs and the security situation.
Demanding an increase in security in major cities across the country, Khan said that the government should prepare itself for reprisal from the militants.
Earlier, Khan visited a camp set up in Bannu for people displaced from North Waziristan due to the anti-terrorist military operation.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Khan said, “I have come to Bannu to oversee arrangements being made for the IDPs.”
GOVT REJECTS PTI’S ALLEGATIONS: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid has rejected Khan’s allegations about not taking the KP government into confidence and lack of assistance for the IDPs.
The information minister expressed surprise over Khan’s allegations that the KP government was not taken into confidence before the NWA operation, saying that KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak was present during an army briefing before the launch of the operation.
He said that the PTI chairman should have first enquired about the matter from the KP chief minister before leveling baseless allegations against the federal government.
He said that the federal government was extending necessary assistance to the IDPs by utilising all possible resources and this assistance would continue in the future.
He said that Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt General (r) Abdul Qadir Baloch has been made in-charge of relief for the IDPs and he is taking necessary steps along with the KP governor, chief secretary, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and FATA DMA.
He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had visited disaster-hit areas of Thar and Awaran to help his countrymen but Khan did not visit those areas.
“PM Sharif will never abandon his people during the operation,” said Rashid.