Awami National Party (ANP) Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday called upon the government and PTI chief Imran Khan to end the ongoing power struggle and concentrate on rehabilitation and repatriation of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan. He demanded that the IDPs should be sent back to their homes in areas which were cleared by the Army.
Addressing a tribal 'Jirga' here on Monday, Asfandyar said that it seemed IDPs were forgotten. He deplored over the plights of IDPs in Bannu and Lakki Marwat severely criticising the federal government for ignoring the displaced people and PTI for staging sit-in for the sake of power.
He said that it was regrettable the federal government could not properly handle IDPs' problems and they were languishing in their camps without proper facilities. Asfandyar said that if the issue was not taken seriously then it would have far reaching repercussions for the country's security and integrity. Expressing concern over lack of quality education and a separate university in FATA, ANP chief said the future of tribal youth is at stake due to repeated military operations.
He appealed to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzi, Aftab Sherpao, Siraj-ul-Haq and Maulana Fazlur Rahman to hold a grand Jirga to highlight the problems of IDPs. Provincial President Awami National Party Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Senior ANP leader Haji Ghulam Bilour, Central General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Bashir Ahmad Matta, and others were also present on the occasion.