LANDI KOTAL: Hundreds of internally displaced persons from Qambarkhel staged a protest demonstration at New Durrani Camp near Sadda in Kurram Agency on Monday against Bara political administration for its failure to facilitate their early return to Tirah valley.

Habib Khan, a Qambarkhel elder, told Dawn by telephone from the camp that they had been demanding their early repatriation since the start of return process of Tirah IDPs in October last year but their demand was turned down by the Bara political administration without any specific reason.

More than two hundred Qambarkhel families belonging to Ouch Naaw, Eiggo Mela, Tajo and Jutt localities near Haider Kandaw were residing in different localities of Kurram after Taliban captured Bagh Maidan area of Tirah in March last year.

`We met Nasir Khan, the assistant political agent of Bara, several times but he never entertained our request andinstead askedus to wait for an unspecified period,` the tribal elder said. He added that even Fata Disaster Management Authority was willing to send them back but the assistant political agent was opposing their return unnecessarily.

Wajid Khan, another Qambarkhel IDP, said that he personally met the assistance political agent in October 2013 when the first phase of Tirah IDPs return was started and later in early May this year when the second phase was initiated but all his pleadings fell on deaf ears.

`We went to Bala Hisar Fort in Peshawar and south an approval from the security officials which was duly granted but even then the assistant political agent refused to let us go back for no apparent reason,` Mr Khan said.

He said that security situation in their area had improved and most of his cotribesmen were eager to go back to rebuild their damaged houses and cultivate their agricultural land, which was one of the main sources of their earning.

Other tribal elders including Habib Khan, Sheraz Gul, Ziyari Gul and Shahid Rehman said that they would be left with no other option but to stage a protest outside Governor`s House in Peshawar against the attitude of Bara political administration.

Meanwhile, officials of Fata Disaster Management Authority said on Monday that as many as 955 families comprising of 4,700 individuals belonging to Malikdinkhel, Adamkhel and Shalobar tribes were repatriated during the ongoing second phase of Tirah IDPs return, which was started on May 7.

They said that of the total 955 families, 922 were sent to Tirah from Jarma exit point near Kohat while the rest were sent from Durrani camp.

The FDMA had in the start of the second phase planned to send back 300 families every day but it could not meet the target owing to slow response of the displaced families.

Officials said that the second and last phase would be completed by June 6 during which all the registered and unregistered displaced families would be repatriated.

The distribution of monthly ration to Tirah IDPs would also be stopped once their repatriation was completed, they added.

Assistant Political Agent Bara Nasir Khan did not respond to the text messages sent to him by this correspondent to express his views about the tribesmen`s allegations.