86 landmines victims await compensation in Waziristan

ISLAMABAD: A total of 86 people killed or injured by landmines in South Waziristan have not been compensated, as revealed by the official document available with the Hum Investigation Team (HIT).

Details suggest that 128 cases of landmines were reported in South Waziristan in the last 10 years, resulting in 45 deaths and 83 serious injuries.

Before the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there were 59 incidents in South Waziristan, while 69 incidents were registered post-merger. Before the merger, 26 people were killed, and 33 remained seriously injured in 59 incidents involving landmines, while the compensation for 22 victims is under process.

Moreover, post-merger, 19 people were killed, and 50 people remained seriously injured in 69 incidents, while the compensation for 64 victims is under process.

After the amendment to the Rules of Business 1985 on June 9, 2017, the Relief Department has been added for the payment of compensation to civilian victims in cases of man-made disasters and terrorist activities. In pre-merger FATA, the Law & Order Department was responsible for arranging and processing the cases for the payment of compensation to victims of man-made disasters.

After the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Law and Order Department was merged with the Home and Tribal Affairs Department. Hence, the compensation cases of pre-merger FATA were being processed by the Home Department, and the post-merger cases by the Relief, Rehabilitation, and Settlement Department.

A senator of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dost Mohammad Khan, had raised the issue of non-compensation for landmine victims. The concerned authorities have assured that compensation will be paid to the victims within two weeks.

Read: Wildfire sets off landmines around Tehran’s Evin prison