KHYBER: Scores of Kukikhel tribesmen on Wednesday protested a long delay in the return of hundreds of displaced families to Tirah valley.

They gathered at the historic Bab-i-Khyber in Jamrud here carrying black flags, and stayed put for several hours amid humid weather.

The tribal elders had given the call for the protest and observance of a black day on the country’s 77th Independence Day after their talks with Peshawar’s commissioner on Tuesday ended in a deadlock.

They called for the announcement of an early schedule for the return of the remaining internally displaced persons from their Kukikhel tribe to their homes.

The speakers, including MNA Iqbal Afridi, Bara Siyasi Ittehad president Sherin Afridi, former MPA Shafeeq Sher and elder Malik Naseer Ahmad, criticised administrative and security officials for what they called failure to fulfil their commitments about the early return of IDPs to Tirah.

They insisted that authorities told them on many occasions that the area had been cleared of terrorists, but even then, there was reluctance on their part to send IDPs back using security concerns as an excuse.

The speakers added that the nearby border was effectively fenced.

They complained that no judicial body was ready to ensure justice for the people of tribal districts and protect their constitutional rights.

The speakers criticised the government for depriving people in tribal districts of their natural resources instead of providing them with security and facilitating the honourable return of IDPs to their homes.

Meanwhile, all Independence Day gatherings organised by the district administration here were marred by the Kukikhel tribesmen’s protest.

Most of the functions were held on the premises of the district administration.

The administration didn’t invite tribal elders, politicians and social activists to official gatherings, except for a short march by a handful of tribal elders in Jamrud, when the Kukikhel tribesmen were staging a protest outside the tehsil offices in Jamrud.

The day’s most official activities were limited to the hoisting of the national flag at the offices of the district administration in Khyber House Bara and Jamrud. Only a musical programme was organised inside the Landi Kotal sub-jail for inmates. Journalists were not invited to those short events.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2024