KHYBER: Lack of cooperation by police is hampering house listing in several parts of Tirah valley during the ongoing census in Khyber tribal district, according to sources.

They told this scribe said that as per the official instructions, at least four policemen should accompany an enumerator during the house listing and head count process being conducted under the first ever digital national census.

Requesting anonymity, some enumerators in parts of Tirah confided to Dawn that local police were either reluctant to provide security to them or they were least interested in carrying out the official responsibility.

They said that some of their colleagues had been waiting for police escort since the start of house count process in Thor Lagad, Serrai Kallay, Sanda Pal, Bagh-i-Haram, Khupur, Dray Nagharai and Sukh localities.

Focal person for census says matter will be discussed with DC in weekly meeting

“Every time we ask police for a security escort to these areas, they refused to oblige on pretext of these areas being very sensitive and still ‘closed’ to any intervention,” a young enumerator told this scribe.

He said that the entire process of house count in Sheikhmali Baba, Kandaw Jumaat-Abdulkhel, Sandana and Paindee Cheena was completed without provision of any security escort by police.

Another enumerator said that police also complained about shortage of manpower whenever they were approached for provision of security. He said that enumerators had to conduct the process of house listing without police escort in Takhtaki, Ghulam Ali, Nakai and Mehraban Kallay.

Malak Noor Zahir, a Kukikhel elder in Mehraban Kallay, said that Barrai, Bagh, Pugdara, Pethai, Ghakhee, Feroz Kandaw, Thor Sapar, Kachkol and Kheraba Kandaw-Gharebi were completely ignored in the house listing process.

He said that nearly 6,000 to 7,000 displaced families were yet to return to those localities. These families, he said, were currently residing in parts of Jamrud, Peshawar and some cities of Punjab.

Similarly no house listing was carried out in some pockets of Loozaka Darra of Tirah on the border with Kurram tribal district.

Qari Naurang, a resident of Loozaka Darra, said that villages of Dro Kallay, Manrrai Kallay, Chargo Chanro, Darti Kallay and Koza Manrrai were completely left out of the process with no explanation from the local authorities.

Residents in some Kukikhel-inhabited localities alleged that some non-local enumerators deputed in their area were not acquainted with the geography of the region and left out a number of villages.

Shabirullah, district coordinator for the census process, when approached about the role of police and insecurity of the enumeration staff, said that there still exited threat from suspected militants and the region was categorised as low, medium and high in light of the threat level where police were reluctant to provide security to enumerators.

Tahir Afridi, focal person for census, said that the matter would be discussed in the weekly meeting with deputy commissioners while enumerators’ apprehensions about security situation would also be conveyed to the district police officer.

The head count would begin on March 12 and officials said that every possible arrangement was made to make it a success.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2023