Khyber - Hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Rajgal area have threatened to march toward Tirah Valley if the government fails to repatriate them to their respective villages.
In a protest gathering held at Bab-e-Khyber on Friday, speakers including Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Bara Sayasi Ittehad (BSI) chief Shareen Afridi, Khan Wali (Jamaat-e-Islami), President of the Zwan Koki Khel organization Sanaullah Afridi, Munir Orakzai, Barkat Afridi, Said Kabeer, and others stated that over a decade and a half ago, thousands of residents from Rajgal and the surrounding areas near the border were forced to leave their hometowns due to military operations. Since then, they have been living as IDPs in Jamrud and other towns across the province, they added.
Ironically, majority of Koki Khel, a clan of the Afridi tribe, have not been officially declared IDPs, which they described as an injustice, given that they have endured hardships in support of peace efforts, they remarked. The speakers criticised the government for ignoring their sacrifices, which were made in the interest of the country’s security.
They also questioned the rationale behind not allowing the remaining Koki Khel IDP families to return to their homes, despite claims that militancy has been eliminated and the border secured.
Condemning the police’s actions in responding to the Pakhtun Jirga (Pakhtun Court) camp organised at Regi Lalma, Peshawar, the speakers emphasised that it is not a crime to demand the genuine and constitutional rights of the Pakhtun community. They pointed out that billions of rupees had been spent on peace restoration, yet citizens still felt unsafe in their homes.
The participants warned that if the government does not repatriate them in the coming days, they will have no choice but to march to Rajgal on October 14, 2024, to settle the issue of Koki Khel IDPs.
It is worth noting that the Koki Khel IDPs have been protesting, blocking the main Pak-Afghan highway used for export and import, for the past month and a half in support of their demands, but the government and relevant authorities have yet to address their concerns.