'Army restores govt writ in Bajaur and Mohmand'

PESHAWAR - The FATA Secretariat, Special Support Group and Political Administration have formally declared that 53 villages of Bajaur agency are no more 'conflict zones, hinting at green signal for voluntarily repatriation of the displaced persons to their localities. While addressing a news conference here on Monday, Secretary Law and Order FATA Secretariat Tariq Hayat said that they had decided to repatriate the IDPs of Bajaur and Mohmand Agencies. He said that for a country like Pakistan, such a huge mass exodus was a thorny issue but they dealt it effectively with the generous humanitarian aid from international community. He also said that the repatriation would be started from the 25th April, in collaboration with UNCHR, which will give transportation facilities to IDPs of the two agencies, encamped at Jalozai, Palosa and Benazir camps. He further said that four humanitarian hubs, two in each agency, had been established where IDPs would be given relief packages. He maintained that two humanitarian hubs have been erected in Khar and Inayat Killi in Bajaur Agency, while in Mohmand Agency the process is underway. On this occasion, representatives of UNHCR, Special Support Group (SSG), political administration of Mohmand and Bajaur agencies and Fata Disaster Management were present. Tariq Hayat maintained that Pak Army has restored complete writ of government by scouring the militants and declared the two agencies 'clear, which had earlier been declared as conflict zones two years back. He also asked the IDPs to go back homes. He ruled out resurgence of any terror, and said the no-go-areas were cleared and made safe now, adding that security will remain under vigilance. Tariq opined that all the chaos across tribal belt had been unleashed with foreign covert backing accepting that the tools were indigenous but he could not come up with naming the foreign hands. Political Agent Mohmand Agency Amjad Ali Khan on this occasion said that 6,500 IDPs were registered in three camps allocated for Bajaur, wherefrom 90 families had already started repatriation on 13th April. He refuted any shelling incident in Mohmand agency the previous night and added that no one could dare to challenge the writ of government. While Zakir Hussain Afridi, Political Agent Bajaur Agency, said that 27,000 IDPs were registered from Bajaur agency while 1,600 remained unregistered. Tariq Hayat also said that the temporary shelters would be given to those IDPs who make return to their native agencies and after that building material would be provided to them so that they could re-erect their damaged houses. He also denied any embezzlement in FATA Secretariat, and said that they have not distributed any aid packages in cash rather ATM cards were given to IDPs and they receive financial aid directly from Federal Capital Islamabad.

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