TANK: Inspector General Frontier Corps (IGFC-South) Maj Gen Azhar Abbasi on Thursday said that compensation would soon be paid to people whose houses had been damaged in the South Waziristan military operation, codenamed Rah-i-Nijat.

`Compensation cheques would be distributed among owners of the damaged houses in the next few days,` he said while speaking at a grand jirga of Mehsud tribesmen in Makeen area of South Waziristan district.

He informed the jirga that survey teams had been formed to assess the damage to the houses in the Karama area so that the process of payment of compensation amount to the affected people could be started. He further said that work on restoration of power supply to different parts of the area was under way and this process would be speeded up.

Talking to local journalists later, tribal elders said that soon after assuming the charge of his office, the IGFC visited hard-to-reach areas of South Waziristan and that would help address their grievances. They hailed the government for initiating development projects in South Waziristan, including trade route to Afghanistan from Mehsuds` land, small dams and power projects. `These projects would herald an era of prosperity in the region,` they said.

The tribal elders thanked the IGFC-South for taking keen interest in resolving genuine problems of the residents of the militancy-torn South Waziristan district. They extended their full support to the Frontier Corps to restore peace in their area.