Jirga urges govt to allow return of Sipah tribe to Bara

BARA: The political leaders, elders and social workers belonging to Khyber Agency on Sunday asked the government to start repatriating the displaced members of the Sipah tribe, reopen Bara Bazaar and schools and roads forthwith.
The demands were made at a grand jirga held at Hayatabad in Peshawar.
Member National Assembly (MNA) from Khyber Agency Nasir Khan Afridi, Senator Momin Khan Afridi, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Shah Faisal Afridi, Awami National Party (ANP) office-bearer and senior lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s Javed Afridi, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Wilayat Khan Afridi and others attended the jirga.
The participants asked why the return of Sipah tribe was stopped as all the dislocated persons from other tribes had been sent back home.
They asked the federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to announce the timeframe for return of Sipah tribe members as they had been residing in camps and rented homes for seven years.
The jirga members said the return of Sipah tribe should be ensured along with implementation of the governor’s package for Bara. It demanded the repatriation of the displaced persons, and reopening of closed roads and education and health institutions.
The jirga said that a financial compensation package should be announced for Sipah tribe.
MNA Nasir Khan Afridi said the repatriation process would be incomplete if Sipah tribe wasn’t allowed to return home. It may be mentioned that all tribes living in Bara including Akakhel, Qamarkhel, Malikdinkhel, Bar Qambarkhel, Adamkhel have been repatriated except the Sipah tribe.