PESHAWAR: Wearing a blue turban and sitting inside his grocery shop on the main Bara Road in Sarband locality, Balwan Singh, 84, is extremely worried about his land property, house and belongings he had left behind in Tirah valley five years ago. Living as internally displaced person since then in Peshawar, he now faces difficulty in registration to go back to Tirah.

His shop is located on the main road at a busy place near Bara Qadeem checkpost, but he is not satisfied with his business and desires to get permission to return to his village. He is worried if the days of being an IDP will ever end and he will be able to enjoy the pleasant weather of the lush green Tirah valley again.

“Our Sikh people have tried time and again to get permission to return to our village in Tirah, but the government is not allowing us for unknown reasons,” Mr Singh told this correspondent. He said that he had also visited the registration point in Jarma, Kohat, to register his family, but without success.

“Our people have suffered a lot due to the displacement because they are dealing in different works and businesses and the entire business activities had come to a standstill due to the lawlessness,” he said.

Urge govt to facilitate their rehabilitation

Most of the Sikh community members, he said, were dealing in herbal medicines, spices and groceries and a few of them had been associated with farming. He said that the displacement was made in so hurry that the people could not shift their valuable belongings to safer places and thus suffered huge financial losses.

Recalling the pleasant moments he and his family spent in Tirah, Mr Singh said that he rarely came out of the lush green area, but the lawlessness forced his entire community to shift to Peshawar and suffer the scorching heat.

He said that his people had shifted to Hassanabadal, Nankana Sahib and Dabgari, Peshawar, and other cities where they were living in rented buildings, but very few of them had managed to open shops.

Mr Singh also talked about the two Sikhs who were killed in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district and one in Bara area, and said that it could not be ascertained who were involved in their murder.

“The Sikh community has adopted all the local Pakhtun customs and traditions where we both share all the moments of grief and happiness,” he maintained. He said that the Sikh people had no complaints against anyone because the lawlessness had equally affected the people of all religions.

However, he said that it was duty of the government to help them in their return if the situation in Tirah was under control.

Another displaced person, Kartar Singh, also expressed similar feelings and complained that the government was using delaying tactics to take steps for their rehabilitation.

“We have been living in Peshawar city in rented buildings and spending a big amount of money on monthly expenses, but our income is next to nil,” he said and complained that the government had not compensated them so far.

He said that the only solution to their problems was rehabilitation to their native villages so they could start normal life. Some families of the Sikh community, he said had returned to Tirah, but peace was the main issue in the hilly terrain. He also demanded provision of security to the people of his community.

Published in Dawn, Aug 4th, 2014