Displaced Orakzai people resent delay in compensation

Published September 7, 2020
Remains of a destroyed house in Mamozai area of Orakzai. — Dawn
Remains of a destroyed house in Mamozai area of Orakzai. — Dawn

KOHAT: The tribesmen of Mamozai area in upper Orakzai tribal district have resented delay in payment of compensation to help them reconstruct the destroyed shops and houses.

Over 1,500 houses were destroyed between 2008 and 2015 during fierce battles between the army and the Taliban for the control of Mamozai area, a bastion of the militant organisation, said Saleh Din, a local elder.

He said it took the army two years to flush out the militants from their stronghold, he said, but the insurgency had devastated the residential areas and the main bazaar, displacing hundreds of tribesmen.

Meanwhile, adviser to the chief minister on excise, taxation and narcotics control, Ghazai Ghazan Jamal Orakzai distributed compensation cheques among the affected people in Mamozai area. The payment of Rs20.6 million was made to 500 affected people at a ceremony.

Official sources said there still remained 1,000 people to be compensated, adding the adviser had directed the administration to conduct a survey of the destroyed houses and the shops in the main bazaar.

TREE PLANTATION: Pakistan-China Friendship Association (PCFA) and Pakistan Development Foundation (PDF) kick-started the other day a tree plantation campaign across the Kohat division.

A ceremony to this effect was held at the commissioner house here, where commissioner Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah was the chief guest. The commissioner planted a sapling on the premises of his official residence.

On the occasion, Mr Shah appreciated the efforts of PCFA and PDF and said the initiative would further enhance relations between Pakistan and China.

ROAD CLOSURE TROUBLES COMMUTERS: The closure of the roundabout at the Spring Square in front of the old bus stand and shutting down of the MP Gate, which serves as short link between the north and south of the Kohat city, is troubling the commuters.

Similarly, barricades put at the Durrani Fort roundabout despite moving its main gate to the west is causing problems to the vehicles bringing patients from Hangu Road, Kurram and Orakzai districts to the Liaquat Memorial Hospital. The MP Gate, which remained opened for civilian traffic, has been closed for more than a decade. However, despite restoration of peace in the region it has not been reopened.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2020

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