KHAR: A large number of Bajaur Agency residents living in parts of Punjab and Sindh for employment have returned after the launch of ‘search and strike’ operation against terrorists in the country by law-enforcement agencies.
They total around 6,000 and are either labourers or retailers.
They told media they wanted to continue to stay put but the search operation, especially the arrest of some colleagues belonging to their hometowns over suspicions, forced them to return out of fear.
Mohammad Saeed, a resident of Mandal area of Salarzai tehsil, said he went to Sialkot two months ago to work at a construction site as a helper but the search operation forced him to leave the job and return, especially after the local police arrested many of his friends.
He said though the residents of Bajaur Agency were peaceful and had no involvement in any criminal activities, the police were very harsh and unfriendly towards them.
Other returnees also complained the Punjab and Sindh police used to disturb them without reason as if they were terrorists.
Akbar Khan, a resident of Mamond area, who recently came back from Lahore, said law-enforcement personnel, especially policemen, in Punjab’s capital turned hostile to people from Fata after the Feb13 bomb blast.
He said he and many other Bajaur people didn’t see the police behave so badly in the past.
The returnees said the police insulted the residents of Bajaur Agency living in Lahore after the alleged facilitator of the Lahore suicide attack was found to be a resident of their area.
They said the situation distressed the Bajaur Agency people so much that they opted to return.
The tribesmen said thousands of the people from Fata would become jobless if things didn’t become normal in Punjab and Sindh.
They appealed to Fata lawmakers and leaders to take up the matter with the relevant authorities for corrective measures.
