February 6th, 2021
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR
The Bettani tribesmen have held a protest camp at Jandola town of district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to call for compensation of damages suffered in the Rah-i-Nijat military operation.
Scores of affected tribesmen participated in the protest camp in Jandola on Thursday, calling upon the provincial government to pay compensation for shops and businesses destroyed in the military operation in 2009. “The government has compensated tribal affectees in Khyber Agency, Bajaur and other areas but those from the Bettani tribe in Jandola have been denied any payment,” an affected tribesmen tells Voicepk.net. An affected tribesman, Abdullah, said 700 shops were damaged during the military operation and the affected owners had not been paid any compensation.
The protestors say the provincial government had designated 2,275 families as affected in the military operation but these families were not compensated at par with those in other regions of the province. The affected tribesmen say many of them were displaced from their homes during the operation. “Close to 300 families have not still returned home,” a tribesman at the protest camp says.
The protesting tribesmen warned that they would continue their sit-till the government accedes to their demand for adequate payment of compensation for losses suffered in the military operation.
Meanwhile, residents from North Waziristan held a protest demonstration outside Peshawar Press Club, demanding that the federal government take measures for rehabilitation of displaced families, restoration of compensation funds and provision of ration to the affected people.