May 31, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1428

PESHAWAR, May 30: Elders of the Isakhel tribe in Mohmand Agency have urged the National Database and Registration Authority to stop issuing identity cards to members of the Hazarnbaz tribe, who migrated from Afghanistan after the Soviet Union’s invasion.

Councillors Dilawar Khan, Siraj Gul, Sadullah, Zarmash Khan and Jan Syed alleged at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday that Nadra officials were issuing identity cards to Afghan refugees residing in Mohmand Agency after receiving bribe. They threatened to stage protest demonstrations in front of the Parliament House and Nadra headquarters if the issuance of the cards to the refuges was not stopped.

They said thousands of Afghans had been living in Mohmand Agency for three decades.

They alleged that the refugees had begun getting the identity cards from the Nadra office in Mohmand Agency by claiming to be members of the Totakhel Khuwaizi tribe. They said the Hazarbaz tribesmen did not own land and they lived in rented homes. They also accused the refugees of disturbing the peaceful atmosphere in the agency.—Bureau