Elders want phone service to South Waziristan restored

WANA: The tribal elders on Thursday asked the government to restore the telephone service in South Waziristan Agency as the people cannot contact their loved ones living in other parts of the country or abroad.

The demand was made during a jirga held in Kaniguram valley here. The elders said that there was a telephone exchange in the area which was operational before the launch of the military operation Rah-e-Nijat in South Waziristan.

They said that around 400 people had obtained telephones connections from the exchange and all the lines were working properly before carrying out the military offensive. The elders said that all the connections remained suspended after the operation and could not be restored even after the return of the temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) to native areas. They said the people did not have any other communication source to establish contact with their near and dear ones living in other parts of the country or abroad.

The elders said the journalists in Kaniguram, Badar, Ladha and Karama areas were also facing immense hardship in establishing contact with their respective news outlets and sending any news. They said digital subscriber line (DSL) services remained suspended in the aforementioned areas as well. The elders said on contrary landline numbers in NWA had been restored soon after the return of the TDPs to native areas.

They asked the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Nazir Ahmad Butt to help restore the telephone and DSL services in the area.