GHALANAI: Over 85 temporary displaced families have returned to Mohmand tribal district from Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.

An official of the district administration said that 87 such families had reached the Manzari Cheena area of Baizai tehsil through the Torkham border crossing.

Assistant commissioner Baizai Sher Alam Khan said that the families were shifted into the houses of host families which are residing in the border areas.

An elder in the border area told Dawn that these families were displaced from the area and went to Afghanistan in 2007-08 when security forces launched an operation against militants in the border areas.

“Most of these displaced families were living in the eastern parts of Afghanistan like Kama, Gharai and Pateh Meena,” said the elder.

He also said that some of the families were still in Afghanistan because they had no travel documents.

The elder said that Biazai tehsil was the most backward area of Mohmand district and its residents were facing numerous problems. He said that the government should pay compensation for the damaged houses and other properties.

The elder demanded of the government and donor agencies to send a mobile health unit in the border area and also make arrangements for schools, safe drinking water, food and noon food items for the returned families.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018