State writ restored, IDPs rehabilitation

tough challenge: COAS

Says Army to block return of terrorists, their facilitators

PESHAWAR: Paying rich tributes to the resilience and sacrifices of the people of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Tuesday said they were now facing some difficult challenges in the form of rebuilding the war-damaged areas after successfully expelling terrorists from their sanctuaries and restoring the writ of the state.

General Raheel said that resettling the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and installing an administrative set-up to better handle needs and aspirations of the people were the top priorities of security forces.

The army chief was speaking at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Apex Committee meeting, which didn’t seem satisfied with the pace of the repatriation process of displaced tribesmen, lack of the required funds for development projects and the reforms process for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Mehtab Ahmad Khan, Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Hidayatur Rehman, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Salim Bajwa and other civil and military officials also attended the special Apex Committee meeting at the Corps Headquarters, Peshawar.

According to participants of the meeting, the committee members felt that the rehabilitation process of the displaced people to their native villages and towns in Fata was very slow. They stressed the need for more efforts to fulfil the commitment of sending all the IDPs back to their homes and villages by the end of year. The committee members took notice of delays in allocation of funds by the federal government for phase-1 and phase-III of the process.

Pleading anonymity, an official who attended the meeting told The News that almost all the participants felt that besides expediting the repatriation process, there was an urgent need for allocation of proper funds for rehabilitation of the conflict-affected areas in Fata. So far, 121,348 families, forming 42 percent, had been resettled in Fata. Still, 171,304 families, amounting to 58 percent of the displaced families, are living away from their homes and villages. Majority of the displaced families are to be sent home in North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram tribal agencies.

The official, requesting anonymity, said the Apex Committee members also noted that the political reforms process for Fata was very slow. The meeting unanimously agreed that it should be accelerated with the inclusion of more people having a better understanding of Fata, its people and their needs.

“The committee suggested that there should be proper reforms and system acceptable to the people of Fata. It noted that the people of Fata had suffered heavy losses and therefore one should not impose a system against their will,” the official said. He said the committee stressed the need for establishing an administrative set-up in Fata to take the lead in addressing issues of local people. He said it was felt that all efforts and sacrifices of the people and armed forces might go waste if proper and immediate attention was not given to Fata.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of ongoing military operations, including the intelligence-based operations (IBOs). The official said that General Raheel Sharif agreed with other participants of the Apex Committee that they were now facing some serious challenges in Fata after evicting the terrorists and dismantling their sanctuaries.

The army chief praised the people of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their unflinching resolve and courage against the atrocities of terrorists. General Raheel said that physically rebuilding war-affected areas, resettling of displaced people and establishing an administrative system were some of the challenges they had been facing.

“Together, InshaAllah, with our tribal brethren we shall ensure that terrorists and their facilitators are never allowed to return to these areas,” the COAS pledged in the meeting. He vowed to ensure timely and dignified return of the displaced people to their homes. The army chief reiterated his commitment with the tribesmen to rebuild the tribal areas and revive the entire socio-economic infrastructure. He emphasised upon the concerned quarters to expedite the resettlement process and meet timelines by removing impediments causing delays in timely completion of the work.

Governor Mehtab and Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak appreciated the wholehearted support of Pakistan Army and reiterated the resolve of Fata and the provincial government to rid the region of terrorism and extremism and pave way for development and well-being of the people.