PESHAWAR, Feb 7: The political administration in Bajaur has imposed new restrictions on the returning internally displaced persons (IDPs) barring them from occupying their own houses.

Such restrictions were unheard of in the tribal region before, even under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), considered a black law, sources said.

The glimpses of new realities for the tribesmen came in the light of certain decisions taken by the Army-Civil Jirga, which are in complete violation of fundamental human rights and the constitution, and could discourage the IDPs to go back to their homes. “The houses currently held by security forces or those in the firing range or near security forces’ pickets will not be allowed for dwelling by its residents,” a source in the Army-Civil Jirga said.

Over 200,000 displaced tribesmen can’t return to their homes without accepting decisions of the jirga. Each family will fill security form and will be verified by the respective elders of a tribe and political administration before returning to his/her home.

The IDPs, living in Kacha Garhi relief camp in Peshawar, criticised the decision of the jirga, saying that on the one hand their houses were destroyed on the pretext of operation against the Taliban while on the other hand they were not being allowed to return to their areas to reconstruct their adobes.

Fazl Rabi, a resident of Tang Khatta who is currently living in a relief camp, said that like him thousands of IDPs could not go back to their ancestral villages by imposing such ‘inhuman’ decisions.

“Earlier security forces destroyed our houses, schools, mosques and other infrastructure and now they stop us from returning to the debris,” he said and added that the entire infrastructure had been bombed in Lowi Sam and those houses which remained safe in the operation had been occupied by the troops.

Official sources in Khar told Dawn that over 2,000 houses had been completely destroyed in Lowi Sam, Tang Khatta, Rashakai and other areas during the operation Sher Dill launched in August last. Large number of houses had been partially damaged and administration was assessing damages. Over 4,000 houses were destroyed in South Waziristan during the military operation in January 2008.

Tribesmen who want to return to their homes in the conflict-hit areas of Bajaur are bound mentioning details about their families in the form including religion, tribes and photograph of the family’s head.

These conditions imposed on the displaced people of Bajaur returning to their respective areas got no relevance with the laws of the country and even the 100-year old colonial era FCR, which does not provide any such authority to the state agencies.

Surprisingly the authorities have enforced these ruthless conditions on the affected people of Bajaur when the PPP and ANP have been running coalition governments at the centre and the Frontier province. Both parties have not only guaranteed drastic amendments in the FCR in their election manifesto but also promised restoration of political rights to the people of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Three sections of the FCR – 21, 22 and 23 – are considered more oppressive and barbaric but even they don’t restrict a peaceful and law abiding tribal family from going back to its adobe.

Section 21 deals with collective responsibility of a tribe and section 22 calls for territorial responsibility of tribesmen which empowers the tribal administration to impose fine on the entire population of a village when there appears to be good reason to believe that the inhabitants of the village had connived at, or in any way abetted, the commission of an offence, or failed to render all assistance in their power to discover the offender or to effect their arrest.

Under the new terms and conditions personnel of the Frontier Corps, Levies and local elders would ensure to hoist white flags on houses which had been registered and flags would be removed from those houses which had not been registered.

Local people are allowed to keep weapons and they will stand ready whenever army requires their assistance. Residents and elders of the villages will not open fire and if any extraordinary situation happens in the area they (residents) should counter it and inform the army.

Date for convening a jirga will be fixed by the army, FC and political administration after consultation and the political tehsildar of the area will be responsible to be in touch with the local elders and keep them abreast regarding date and venue of the jirga.

Presence of the army, FC and members of the political administration is mandatory in the jirga. It will be organised and protected by the army. The FC and Levies personnel could search people at the notified places besides allotment of house numbers after registration.

Residents of the respective villages, under the plan, could live in their homes independently after registering themselves.