73 displaced families leave for NWA

MIRANSHAH: About 73 displaced families left for their homes on Wednesday as the government started phase-wise return of the displaced tribespeople to their native areas in North Waziristan Agency (NWA).
These tribespeople were displaced from different parts of Mir Ali subdivision in North Waziristan when the government launched a massive military offensive, Zarb-e-Azb’ against the militants on June 15, 2014.
According to the Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA), 16,8000 families had left their houses and villages due to the military operation. Majority of them started living in rented houses in Bannu, Kohat, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar and Nowshera districts as well as in parts of the Hazara division.
The government started sending back the displaced tribespeople on March 31, 2015 and repatriated 1,316 families so far to their native villages in Spinwam and Mir Ali areas of the tribal region.
Now second phase of repatriation has started and 73 families left the Mirzael IDPs camp for their villages in Mir Ali.The tribespeople had arranged their own transportation for taking their families back to North Waziristan.
The government officials said the repatriation process would continue and tribespeople would be sent back to their native areas having been cleared of the militants.After Mir Ali and Spinwam, now the residents of Miranshah had also started putting pressure on government to make arrangements for sending them back to their houses and villages.The tribal elders of Miranshah held a meeting in Peshawar two days ago and demanded the federal government and military authorities to help them return to their native areas.