Vacated markets, houses in Azakhel Refugee Camp demolished

NOWSHERA: The district administration on the directive of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government Wednesday launched operation to demolish the houses and markets of Afghan refugees in Azakhel Refugee Camp.
The government had asked the Afghan refugees to vacate the camp when the UNHCR and Afghan Commissionerate closed the Azakhel Refugee Camp after the 2010 floods.
In the first phase of the operation, markets and vacated houses on both sides of the Grand Trunk Road and Railways lines were demolished. The administration asked the refugees who had not vacated their houses to shift to the Shamshato Camp within 24 hours.
The administration also extended deadline for shifting goods from some shops, which were not demolished in the first phase and would be demolished in the second phase to be launched after 24 hours.
The administration made it clear to the refugees that all the structure would be demolished in the second phase and asked them to shift their belongings to other place. The administration gave 24-hour extension in deadline as 2,500 families were still staying at the camp.
The administration officials said that the camp was closed in 2010 and the refugees had been asked to shift to Shamshato Camp, Khairabad or Akora Khattak. The officials said that refugees had ignored the administration requests which forced them to launch the operation.
Talking to The News, Ahmed Noor Ahmadzai, an Afghan refugee, said that their villages were still under the control of Taliban. He said that he cannot put the life of his family in danger by moving to Afghanistan unless peace was restored to his native area.
A representative of the Afghan Consulate told reporters that Pakistani government had not contacted them regarding demolishing the camp. The official requested the government of Pakistan to send an official communiqué to the Afghan government before taking any action.
A jirga of the Afghan refugees said that they can legally stay in Pakistan till December and said that all the refugees residing at the camp would leave for Afghanistan after December. They, therefore, requested the government to postpone the operation till December.