PESHAWAR: Compensation covering damages of property due to terrorism-related incidents was given to owners of 120 houses in Orakzai tribal district on Thursday at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Peshawar.

Cheques amounting to Rs42.24 million were handed to heads of families in a ceremony attended by officials of the Pakistan Army and the district administration, tribal elders from Orakzai district and officials of Fata Disaster Management Authority.

In a statement issued to media, the FDMA spokesperson Ihsan Dawar said that of the 120 houses, 96 were fully damaged and 24 partially damaged. Owners of the fully damaged houses received Rs400,000 each whereas those whose houses were partially damaged were given Rs160,000 each.

He added that a total of 8,900 houses were damaged fully or partially during war on terror in Orakzai tribal district.

“Overall 7,180 owners of houses have been compensated so far in Orakzai district while the rest will be issued as soon as survey is completed,” Mr Dawar said. He said that more than 83,100 houses were damaged in the entire tribal areas during the past one decade of war on terror.

Meanwhile, Mehmood Aslam Wazir, the new FDMA director general, on Thursday vowed to speed up the survey process in all the tribal districts and issuance of compensation cheques to the deserving tribesmen.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2018