Tribesmen threaten to hold children’s health hostage if denied repatriation

HANGU: Eight tribes from Upper Orakzai Agency held a Grand Jirga on Tuesday and demanded repatriation. If denied, they threatened to relocate to Afghanistan, deny their children polio and other vaccinations, and permanently close down Kohat-Hangu Road. The jirga was held in Baber Mela, Hangu, the headquarters of Orakzai Agency. The eight tribes which participated were Ali Khel, Mula Khel, Mamozai, Dadhar Mamozai, Rabia Khel, Akhel, Esa Khel and Chapri Feroz Khel. These clans are still internally displaced, living in camps in Hangu and Kohat.

Chairing the jirga, Malik Noor Habib Khan told participants previous and current governments and security forces have not managed to allow tribesmen to go back home, even though multiple jirgas have been held with the political administration. He explained on May 19 a jirga demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson Imran Khan repatriate the families as military operations in the agency were said to be over and the area declared secure. Habib claimed nothing happened till July 2 when the then political agent Mehmood Aslam handed them lists of families to be sent back, but the very next day, security forces issued a notification, stating otherwise. The situation replicated itself in August and again in December; each time tribesmen were told they cannot go back home because of poor law and order. At least 120,000 tribesmen continue to live in Khwaja Muhammad, Togh Sari, Hangu, Kohat and other areas, said Habib. It was decided in a jirga after August to chalk out a final deadline for their repatriation, he added. “If the agency has not been cleared and is not safe, why does the government tell the media otherwise?” questioned the jirga chief. Security forces withdrew and Orakzai Scouts were deployed to the agency on December 10, said Shad Muhammmad, a cleric. This clearly indicated peace had been restored in the area, he argued, but no official notification had been made regarding their journey home. This grand jirga will be the last regarding repatriation, declared the tribesmen. If no decision is taken in the next three days by the government, the eight tribes will turn to Afghanistan for help in migrating to the country and will refuse to vaccinate their children against polio and other crippling diseases. In addition, Kohat-Hangu Road will be blocked – not a single vehicle will be allowed entry or exit to and from the agency. The families of the six children who died in a blast on January 26 have still not been compensated, shared the tribesmen. The children had mistaken a toy bomb as a plaything and picked it from outside a house in Baber Mela. The jirga demanded the Rs3 million in compensation be paid to the families; an amount which Hangu DC Syed Ahmad Jan had reportedly received from the provincial government. The political administration refused to comment on the issue. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Orakzai Agency is the second smallest after the Bajaur Agency. It is the only agency which does not share its border with Afghanistan. Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2014.