PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday asked government to compensate the people of merged districts as they suffered losses during the war against terrorism.

He was talking to a delegation of tribal elders from South Waziristan at Watan Kor here. The members of the delegation informed him about the problems being faced by the people of Waziristan.

They said that government conducted a survey to assess the damage to houses in the area so that the affected people could be compensated. They said after completion of the survey, government issued tokens to the people, who were supposed to receive the compensation amount.

However, the elders said that government did not release the promised amount to the affected people. They also demanded increase in the compensation amount and inclusion of left out houses in the survey. The delegation also invited Mr Sherpao to a consultative meeting in Islamabad.

Assuring the delegation of his support, the QWP leader said that tribal people offered matchless sacrifices for the restoration of peace. Therefore, the government should properly compensate them for the losses, he added.

He also endorsed the demand of the delegation to increase the compensation amount and include the houses in the survey that were earlier missed.

The QWP leader demanded of the government to accept the lawful demands of tribal people. He said that his party always supported the genuine demands of tribal people and would spare no effort to help them get their due rights. He said that peace was restored due to unprecedented sacrifices rendered by tribal people.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2024