Waziristan refugees refuse to accept Pakistan conditions

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): The Waziristan refugees camped in southeastern Khost province say they would not accept the Pakistani government’s conditions for their repatriation.

About two years ago, as many as 435,000 families fled North Waziristan and arrived in Afghanistan Army launched a major offensive against militants in the country’s tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Few days earlier, the Pakistan government announced the operation in the North Waziristan region had come to an end and asked the displaced families to return to their homes.

Only a few hundred families returned to their homes after the announcement, while a large number of the refugees are still living in Khost province.

The Pakistani government has warned Waziristan refugees that their nationalities would be cancelled if they did not return until next one month.

However, a number of refugee families living in a camp in Gurbuz district of Khost, say they are happy with facilities the Pakistan government has provided to them, but the facilities could not resolve all their problems.

Noor Ali Khan, a resident of the camp, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the Pakistani government had offered each family 400,000 Pakistani rupees. But he said the amount could not meet their needs.

“If all refugees agreed on return, we would also go to our areas, but I am sure this amount of money will not help us build even a single room, rebuilding our houses which are completely destroyed will cost more than 10,00000 Pakistani rupees,” he said.

Khan said they were ready to relinquish the Pakistani nationality if the Pakistani government tried to enforce full sovereignty on them because they did not want to suffer all their lives.

“Life under government control is very bitter, if the government allows us to live our free tribal life, then we are ready to go back to our areas,” he said.

Ikramullah, another resident of the camp, said refugees who had returned to their areas were unsatisfied because the Pakistan government was still oppressing them.

“If the Pakistani government can rebuild North Waziristan like it was before the operation, then we will return, but if it continues oppressing us, we will not go. Here (in Khost) we feel more safe and Afghans always take care of us,” he said.

Jalalabad Khan, another refugee from the camp, was on the same view and said they would not waste their entire life rebuilding their destroyed assets in Waziristan.

mds/ma