LANDI KOTAL: Over 6,000 of the total 10,000 displaced Shalobar families have returned home in Bara as part of ongoing repatriation programme. The relevant officials told Dawn on Tuesday that the second phase of the repatriation of Bara’s temporarily displaced persons return had begun on June 8 and would complete on June 20.

The Fata Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with Khyber Agency’s political administration has planned the return of members of three Shalobar sub-tribes i.e. Sheikhmalkhel, Wand Garay and Dray Plaray, to their homes in Bara in three phases. Officials said 10,000 Shalobar families were to be rehabilitated until June 20.

The figures issued by FDMA officials on Tuesday said 6,278 families were given the ‘return facilitation forms’ and of those families, 5,492 were given bank ATM cards for withdrawal of Rs25,000 each as assistance on return to homes.

The FDMA with the political administration’s assistance had set up registration points at Qambarabad market, where 221 families from Jalozai camp got themselves registered before returning home.

Though officials of both the political administration and FDMA claimed that the repatriation process was going on smoothly and would be completed on time, many tribesmen complained the process was slow and cumbersome making them, including women, children and elderly people, to queue up for hours in scorching heat.

The tribesmen also said with most of the road leading to Bara from Peshawar and Jamrud closed for security reasons, returning families were finding it extremely difficult to wait for their turn at checkposts while entering Bara.

They also complained about unavailability of drinking water and faulty power supply in their localities.

The tribesmen demanded the immediate closure of all roads leading to Bara and provision of basic facilities to them in respective areas.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play