Elders protest nonpayment of compensation amount

WANA: The elders of the Mahsud tribe in the South Waziristan tribal district on Monday staged a protest against nonpayment of compensation for the damage to their houses during the operation launched to end militancy.

They took out a procession from Pathar and reached the political compound where they staged a sit-in. Speaking on the occasion, Member National Assembly Maulana Jamaluddin Mahsud, Member Provincial Assembly Maulana Issamuddin Mahsud, Delawar Khan Mahsud, Shams Mahsud and others said that the Mahsud tribe left homes during Operation Rah-i-Nijat and lived as displaced persons for 13 years. They said that their houses and the households worth millions of rupees were destroyed during the operation.

They maintained that after the operation, the government had announced compensation for the losses but the compensatory grant per house was not sufficient to reconstruct or repair the houses. The protesters said though the security forces and the officials of the Communication and Works Department had assessed the losses, yet the officials were now raising questions over the cheques issued to the affectees.