Daily Times

KHYBER AGENCY: The temporary displaced persons (TDPs) of the Koki Khel tribe from Rajgal area in Tirah Valley accused officials of halting their ration.

They lamented that they had fled their homes in Rajgal because of militancy in 2012. They said that since then they had been living with their relatives in Jamrud, where they had been living in utter poverty. They said they had been provided with food packages from the World Food Program but these had recently been suspended for unknown reasons. They said that since then, they had been starving. The TDPs argued that if they couldn’t get the rations they should just be allowed to return to their homes in Tirah.

Bakhthawar Afridi, an affectee and distribution committee volunteer member said that more than 1400 TDPs from Koki Khel were dependant on these food packages. He said halting the provision of these food packages was equivalent to snatching loaves from the mouths of children. He warned that if food packages weren’t resumed the TDPs would resort to agitation.

Afridi maintained that the TDPs had convoyed their misery to the FDMA Director General (DG) who assured them that their problem had been taken up with the relevant authorities.

When FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) Assistant Director Atta-ur-Rehman was contacted on the issue, he said that the TDPs of Koki Khel tribes had already signed return forms and collected cash along with the rations returned after six months.

Published in Daily Times, October 26^th 2017.