PESHAWAR: A judicial magistrate in Bannu on Saturday ordered the release of 92 internally displaced persons (IDPs) arrested in a scuffle with police at a food distribution centre earlier this week.

At least 17 people, including nine policemen, were injured Thursday when enraged IDPs turned violent during distribution of rations at the Bannu sports complex.

Thousands of IDPs had been waiting in long queues for hours to get rations for the month of November when the clash took place, which ended with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police taking measures to control the situation and arresting almost a hundred protesters.

Taking action on the incident earlier, the Inspector General of KP Police Nasir Durrani had ordered the DIG Bannu to quash the FIR. The IGP also ordered an independent inquiry into the incident.

Following the withdrawal of cases, Judicial Magistrate Farmanullah ordered the release of 92 arrested people.

Also read: Editorial — IDPs’ predicament

Image from Thursday shows baton-carrying IDPs demonstrating in Bannu after the clash with police.—Online

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Marvi Memon reached Bannu and held a protest sit-in front of the IDP camp demanding release of the arrested people.

Memon said she had come to visit Bannu under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s directives.

The affected people of North Waziristan are benefactors of the nation and PM is being kept informed constantly about their woes, she said.

“The IDPs were assaulted when they approached police for the provision of tents,” she said, holding the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) led KP government responsible for the situation.

In a statement issued later in the day, KP Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani said that the administration had resolved the issue of the arrested IDPs through consultation with the tribal jirga.

He blamed the PML-N of politicising the issue, and claimed that the KP government was paying for “the sins” of the federal government.

He said the provincial government was providing proper assistance to over 3 million IDPs and Afghan refugees in KP.

Several IDPs protested again later on Saturday, demanding more distribution points as the existing ones were not enough to meet their needs.

They also called for an extension in the time period for distribution until evening so that the displaced people could get their rations on time.

Read more: 575,000 IDPs registered in Bannu

Thousands of families have flocked to refugee camps in Bannu since June after the military launched Operation Zarb-i-Azb to eliminate Pakistani Taliban militants from their stronghold in adjoining North Waziristan tribal region.

The operation, involving air strikes, tanks and heavy artillery has forced a mass exodus from the region and has left hundreds of thousands homeless.

As of July this year, 575,000 IDPs have been registered in the town of Bannu, just outside the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).