KOHAT: The efforts of police to control crimes couldn’t bear the desired results owing to presence of displaced persons from tribal areas in the district, officials said.

Mujahid, an official of social welfare department, told Dawn that IDPs were still coming to Kohat. “The displaced tribesmen can move freely and buy property in the district, resulting in escalation of the prices of property and crime rate,” he said.

The official said that contrary to the government’s claim many areas were still under the control of militants in Orakzai Agency, barring the repatriation of IDPs. To a query, he said that IDPs had settled permanently in Kohat and would not go back to their areas.

Sources said that the displaced tribesmen coming to Kohat were also bringing their internal enmities with them. Hardly a day passed when three to four persons were not killed in the IDPs-inhabited areas along the Indus Highway near the city, they added.

Sources alleged that presence of IDPs was main cause of increase in crime rate in the district. Police were of the view that IDPs were involved in cases of theft of vehicles.

Sources said that the displaced tribesmen were buying shops, houses, vehicles and agriculture land as they had enough money.

The president of Tajir Action Committee, Abid Khan, said that the tribesmen were buying land and houses in the city but local people were not allowed to purchase land in the tribal areas.

He said that the government should change the law, allowing them to buy land in Orakzai and Kurram agencies and Darra Adamkhel where people were exempted from taxes and electricity was available for houses and factories at a fixed price of Rs70 per month.

Another official on condition of anonymity told Dawn that earlier more than 100,000 affected families had migrated from Orakzai Agency to Kohat. Similarly, 580 families came from Kurram Agency four years ago and they were not ready to go back without the government’s help in construction of their houses and shops, he added.

LG POLLS: The local bodies’ elections were expected to be held in the province in March next, said Special Assistant to Chief Minister Dr Suran Singh here on Thursday.

Addressing a function, he said that the first time in the history of the province, PTI appointed a non-Muslim assistant to chief minister for minorities.

He lauded the provincial government for increasing job quota for minorities and reserving posts for them in every field without any discrimination.

Dr Singh said that uniform education system would be introduced in private and government schools by next year to do away with the social disparities in the society.

He said that a new policy for transfer of teachers would be adopted to end political interference in the department.