Tribesmen from Danday Darpakhel, an outskirt locality of Miranshah, North Waziristan, staged a demonstration in front of Bannu press club on Tuesday in a bid to force the government for their early repatriation.
The tribesmen announced that they would remain on a three days sit-in in front of Bannu Press Club and urged the government to address their demands immediately otherwise they would stage a similar protest in Islamabad.
The sit-in was attended by scores of tribesmen from all over Danday Darpakhel and addressed by elders from different parts of North Waziristan. During the protest, the tribesmen chanted slogans in favour of their demands.
Malik Glulam, a leading tribal elder from North Waziristan Agency, also addressed the protesters and supported their demands. Talking to this scribe, Malik Ghulam said that around 80 per cent tribesmen have been repatriated to their homes but didn’t allow return to Danday Darpakhel. He said that tribesmen were insisting on their repatriation to native villages and hamlets before Ramzan.
He also said that government’s decision of terminating TDP status of displaced tribesmen also made worry the tribesmen. Similarly these protesters also shown disappointment over destruction of their homes and occupation of properties.
Malik Ghulam said that Danday Darpakhel was very close to Miranshah town, whereas the security forces established barracks and posts. On such grounds, this area was considered very safe and secure.
Danday Darpakhel is adjacent to Miranshah and considered the most sensitive. In the past, Danday Darpakhel remained the headquarters of Maulvi Jalal Haqqani, alleged pioneer of Haqqani network and minister in Taliban regime.
The Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA) Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) has already declared April 15, 2017 as last day for the repatriation of Temporary Displaced People (TDP’s). In this respect, all TDP’s through press advertisements have been directed for de-registration of their cards. Such notices worried the TDPs as most of them are residing in rented houses. Through Watan Cards, the government since June 2014 was giving a standard package of cash to TDPs on monthly basis.
Beside repatriation of TDPs from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other main cities and towns throughout the country, tribesmen slipped into adjacent Khost province of Afghanistan are also returning. In this respect, these tribesmen are welcomed in Ghulam Khan, crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan in North Waziristan. But they are shifted to Baraan Camp near Bannu in connection with what the authorities call screening and investigation.