PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has released Rs18.5 million funds to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) for distribution to the internally displaced persons of North Waziristan tribal district, who have been verified by the National Database and Registration Authority but have yet to return to their homes.

An official statement issued here on Thursday that Rs12,000 would be given away to each of 15,229 verified displaced families of North Waziristan through SIM card.

The release is 75th tranche for the displaced families of the area since June 2014.

The government distributes cash assistance of Rs12,000 every month to every displaced family of North Waziristan tribal district, while over 1,100 displaced families from Khyber tribal district get selected food items, including wheat flour, edible oil and pulses.

Rs12,000 to be given away to each of 15,229 verified families

Over 100,000 families were displaced due to the Zarb-i-Azb military operation, which was launched against local and foreign militants in June 2014. The government had announced Rs12,000 cash assistance for every displaced family of North Waziristan area.

Officials told Dawn that more than 90 per cent of the displaced families had been repatriated to North Waziristan tribal district since the restoration of peace.

They said the remaining 15,229 displaced families had yet to return to their native lands due to the peculiar security situation.

Some of the displaced families have been kept in Bakakhel Camp near Bannu, which is jointly managed by the Pakistan Army and PDMA.

Officials said over 2,000 displaced families from North Waziristan tribal district had been living in that camp. The families mostly belong to Datakhel area.

An official told Dawn that around 1,100 families displaced from Tirah valley of Khyber tribal district could not return to their homes apparently due to shelter problem, harsh weather and unavailability of basic facilities, including drinking water.

He said the IDPs from Tirah were reluctant to fill voluntary return forms.

The government has yet to de-notify some pockets in North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan as a conflict zone.

Similarly, over 2,000 families migrated to Afghanistan in the wake of the military operation against militants have to return to North Waziristan.

According to the relevant officials, the return of IDPs to other tribal districts, including South Waziristan and Orakzai, has been completed.

In the statement, PDMA director general Pervez Khan said the Monthly Sustenance Allowance was issued to the displaced people of North Waziristan district regularly to minimise their financial burdens due to their homelessness and joblessness.

He said the government was aware of the sufferings and financial conditions of the displaced families and therefore, the PDMA released Rs12,000 to every IDP family regularly on a monthly basis to every registered and verified family.

The PDMA director general said the organisation was trying its best to minimise difficulties and adversities of the people of the newly-merged tribal districts and of the entire province as and when needed during natural and manmade disasters.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2020