PESHAWAR - Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan said on Sunday that he would celebrate upcoming Eidul Fitr with displaced families of North Waziristan Agency presently living in camps in Bannu.
He made this announcement during his visit to the IDPs camps set up at Bakakhel in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu. It was his second visit to the camps since launching of military operation against militants in North Waziristan Agency on June 15 last.
The PTI chairman met with the displaced persons and listened to their problems as well. He assured them that they would not be left alone at this critical time of their lives.
Flanked by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak, Speaker KP Assembly Asad Qaisar, provincial ministers Ali Amin and Atif Khan, and others, Imran said that he was familiar with the difficulties faced by the IDPs as it is not easy for anyone to leave one's house.
On this occasion, Commissioner Bannu Syed Mohsin Ali briefed them about the arrangements being made for the IDPs.
Imran Khan said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has asked the federal government to release of Rs 6 billion for IDPs. He said that he and his party were aware of the sufferings of the IDPs and would not leave them alone at this hour of difficulty. Announcing to spend coming Eidul Fitr with displaced families of the North Waziristan Agency in camps, he said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would take all possible steps to help the IDPs and minimise their sufferings at this critical stage.
Separately, talking to a tribal jirga at Commissioner House Bannu, Imran Khan said the provincial government would establish more camps for displaced persons, if required. He said that he did know that such a large number of IDPs would leave their homes due to operation. He added that 700,000 people have so far left their homes and shifted to downtowns.
The tribesmen thanked Imran for his support, saying that Imran was standing with the tribesmen from the day one. The tribal jirga apprised Imran of the difficulties being faced by IDPs.
While inaugurating Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government's complaint cell for IDPs in Bannu, Imran directed Speaker Asad Qaiser and Provincial Revenue Minister Ali Amin to ensure their stay on permanent basis in Bannu to mitigate IDPs' difficulties by taking timely action. He said that police personnel available for protecting camps were not enough thus the provincial government would properly ask the federal government to deploy some 500 FC personnel to ensure safety of the camps. He called for uninterrupted power supply to the camps.
He said that NGOs and international donors would be asked to donate for the IDPs. To ensure international donor agencies' access to IDPs, he said that he and CM Khattak would meet Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif in this regard.