KHYBER: The protest sit-in of Kukikhels for return of their displaced families entered 48th day in Jamrud on Monday with no immediate plan of the return in sight.

The sit-in has been organised by Jamrud Siyasi Ettehad (JSE) while local social organisations and youth also participate in the protest on daily basis.

Zarghoon Shah Afridi, the convener of JSE, told Dawn that no meaningful dialogue could be initiated with any of the government departments including the district administration and security agencies.

He said that the sit-in was aimed at diverting the attention of the government departments concerned towards the plight of the displaced families and resolving the issue through dialogue.

Mr Afridi said that more than 12,000 displaced Kukikhel families were living in miserable conditions in Jamrud, Peshawar and other cities of the country with most of them losing their sources of income due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that only a handful of the displaced families could await the official assistance as nearly 90 per cent of them were not registered with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.

Barakat Khan, another leader of JSE, told Dawn that no announcement regarding return of Kukikhels could be made despite several claims about restoration of peace in the areas inhabited by the tribe in Tirah valley.

The occupation of Kukikhel inhabited areas in Tirah by Taliban in 2012 and subsequent military operations in the region forced more than 12,000 families to flee their homes and take refuge in Jamrud and other cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with some migrating to Punjab and even Karachi.

The then Fata Disaster Management Authority not only failed to establish a temporary camp for them but also failed to register all the displaced families, depriving them of the legitimate official assistance.

Mr Afridi said that the sit-in would continue till they got a firm assurance about a final announcement about the return plan of the displaced Kukikhel families.

Meanwhile, officials of the district administration said that they were in contact with Provincial Disaster Management Authority and security officials and as soon as standing operating procedures were devised for the Kukikhel return, a final timeframe would be announced in due course of time.

CLEARANCE: A technical fault in the vehicles scanning machine at Torkham delayed clearance of hundreds of loaded vehicles on Monday.

Transporters said that National Logistic Cell failed to operate the second scanning machine at the border despite its installation about two months ago. They demanded removal of the fault of the mobile scanner alongside making the newly installed machine operational without any further delay.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2020