Two camps for IDPs in Mardan closed

PESHAWAR: The NWFP government announced on Monday that two major relief camps were closed after over 60,000 displaced families had voluntarily returned to Swat and Buner.

Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a press conference after a meeting of the provincial cabinet that the Sheikh Shehzad and Sheikh Yaseen camps in Mardan, the district which hosted the highest number of displaced people, had been closed because most of the inmates had left for their homes.

He said the camps in Jalala and Mazdoorabad were also likely to be vacated in a few days.

In Islamabad, the Special Support Group put the number of IDPs who have returned to Swat and Buner at 300,000.

Mian Iftikhar said the cabinet had discussed the repatriation of displaced people and the law and order situation in the province.

The minister said the next phase of return of the displaced people would begin on July 22 in which families living in schools would be sent to their homes.

The cabinet approved rewards for information leading to the capture of another five militants of Maidan area of Lower Dir, in addition to 21 militant commanders whose named had been announced earlier.

The head money of Rs500,000 each has been announced for Hafeezullah, Qari Shahid, Dr Wazir, Miftahuddin and Abdul Salam.

The minister said the cabinet had decided to confiscate movable and immovable property of militants in Malakand region and to terminate the services of government employees involved in militancy or facilitating militants.

The secretaries of law and establishment were ordered to prepare a report in this regard within two weeks.

He said the provincial government had expressed satisfaction over the military operation in Malakand and praised security forces.

He admitted that there were still pockets where small groups of militants were operating, but said these would be eliminated.

He said the entire Buner district, except three union councils, had been cleared and about 85 per cent of the displace people had returned to their homes.

He said police and paramilitary forces had started patrolling and life had returned to normalcy in the district.

The minister said the World Food Programme was setting up three ration distribution centres in Buner. He said the situation had improved in Swat and children had started going to schools, adding that about 2,300 students, including 200 girls, were attending schools in Khwazakhela.

The cabinet was informed that Rs3 billion had been distributed among affected families and the National Database and Registration Authority had issued about 200,000 cash cards.

The information minister evaded a question about former commissioner of Malakand, Syed Mohammad Javed, who is under investigation for suspected links with Taliban.

He said the chief secretary had been asked to work out procedure for confiscation of property of militants.

The cabinet was briefed on the situation in Hangu, Dera Ismail Khan and other areas.

The minister said a jirga comprising Shia and Sunni elders had been set up and both groups would sign a peace deal in a few days.

He said police were preparing a plan to seize illegal weapons in Hangu.

He said police had rendered unprecedented sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and 119 officials had laid down their lives over the past seven months.

He said police had killed 256 militants in encounters and seized a large number of weapons, detonators and dynamite. They captured two militants.

Our reporter in Islamabad adds: The third phase of repatriation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Malakand division was completed on Monday.

A spokesman of the army’s Special Support Group, Col Wasim Shahid, told Dawn that 40,741 families comprising 285,187 people had returned to Swat and 5,256 families comprising 36,792 people to Buner.

He said 5,850 families returned to Swat and 450 to Buner on Monday, the last day of the third phase which was completed in four days.

He said the repatriation would be completed by the third week of August in seven phases. He said the number of registered IDP families had increased to 323,775.

The displaced people living in camps were being repatriated on a priority basis and their return would be completed in the next 12 days.

Col Wasim said the fourth phase of repatriation would begin on Tuesday and end in three days.

He said displaced people from Charbagh, Tiligram, Manglore, Koklia, Kamalouf and Baminkhel would return during the phase.

He said cards had been issued to 97,285 families and Rs3.57 billion had so far been withdrawn by them.