The process of repatriation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) began on Monday with 5,444 displaced families comprising 40,000 individuals of South Waziristan Agency (SWA) set to return to native tehsils Sararogha and Sarwakai. According to Dr Qasim, Director FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) and Nawab Safi, Assistant Political Officer, South Waziristan, a total of 206 displaced families left for their native towns on Monday and the process will continue till April 10.
In this process, which is the 12th phase of repatriation of SWA displaced families since it was suspended in 2013, a total of 40,000 IDPs of 18 villages will return to two tehsils of SWA - Sararogha and Sarwakai. According to Dr Qasim, some 11,000 families of SWA had earlier returned in 2013 in phase-wise repatriation process, which was stopped and restarted after 15 months with repatriation of 206 families.
Adnan Khan, a spokesperson for Fata Secretariat told Business Recorder that initially the IDPs of SWA of the two tehsils will be repatriated which would be followed by return of the displaced families of Bara Akakhel, Khyber Agency on March 20. As the military operation Zarb-e-Azb is still ongoing in North Waziritsan and some areas are yet to be cleared, he said that the IDPs of only selected areas of Mirali tehsil of North Waziristan will begin to return on March 31. The repatriating family is being given Rs 35000 each as compensation which include Rs 10,000 transportation cost and Rs 25,000 allowance to meet their basic necessities. He said it was a voluntarily repatriation process and the government was not offering any transportation service but Rs 10000 is being given to each displaced family as transportation cost.
To a question, he said that the amount is not being given in cash but through Timepay Money Transfer system, which the IDPs can receive at outlets across the country. He said that the process of registration of those voluntarily repatriated families started a month earlier and the compensation amount has already been transferred to them. The ongoing militancy and the military operations have forced around 2.1 million individuals which constitute 0.6 million families to flee their native towns in the tribal areas including North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Khyber Agency, Orakzai Agency and Kurram Agency who are either residing at registered camps or outside the camps.
According to the spokesperson for Fata Secretariat, out of 2.1 million IDPs, around 70 percent are those residing outside the camps either in rented houses or with their relatives. After their complete repatriation, the spokesperson said that a survey would be conducted of the damages caused by the militancy and Rs 400,000 each would be given to completely damaged houses, and Rs 160,000 to partially damaged houses.
He said that Deputy Commissioner Lahore, through private donations collected from the citizens of Lahore, sent gifts comprising clothes and toys for the children of 15,000 displaced families which were distributed among the repatriating families on Sunday. He also urged the people of the country to make their contribution in donating gifts to the IDPs so that they could be repatriated with dignity and honour.
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