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PESHAWAR: The government has stopped the Afghan refugees from rebuilding their houses destroyed by recent devastating floods in Azakhel refugee camp of Nowshera district.
Afghan refugees and locals told Daily Times that district coordination officer (DCO) Nowshera and land owners of the refugee camp have stopped the Afghan refugees from reconstruction of their destroyed houses in the camp.
The Afghan families, who first fled their homeland after Soviet troops’ invasion some 30 years ago, are now homeless once again - this time due to floods that devastated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and other parts of the country.
Azakhel Refugee Camp, spreading over several kilometres of land, was a bustling community some weeks ago, but is now a flat stretch of land. The floods have completely destroyed the camp and the only structures left intact are the mosques built of concrete.
Azakhel accommodated around 6,000 Afghan families who are now spending a hard time on the Nowshera-Peshawar GT Road near the camp.
Hamim Khan, a resident of Gardez province of Afghanistan who lived in the camp for around 25 years, said that after the refugees shifted to GT Road and started living in tents, the camp land owners demolished the remaining mud houses of the refugees.
DCO Nowshera Ali Anan Qamar, when contacted, said that he stopped the Afghan refugees from reconstruction of their destroyed mud houses after receiving applications from land owners requesting the district administration to refrain refugees from rebuilding their houses.
Refugees said that the camp land owners had warned them of severe consequences if they started houses’ reconstruction in the camp.
“We are not in a position to leave the camp for our native land. We will reconstruct our houses in the camp,” the Afghan refugees said adding that law and order situation was not good in Pakhtun areas of Afghanistan. They said that no one could displace them and they would build their houses in Azakhel.
The Afghan Commissionerate and UNHCR has intervened into the matter and called a joint meeting of Afghan refugees and the camp’s land owners on September 15 to resolve the issue peacefully.
Official sources said that a memorandum had also been signed between Pakistan and Afghanistan under which Afghan refugees could live in Pakistan till 2012.
Afghan refugees and locals told Daily Times that district coordination officer (DCO) Nowshera and land owners of the refugee camp have stopped the Afghan refugees from reconstruction of their destroyed houses in the camp.
The Afghan families, who first fled their homeland after Soviet troops’ invasion some 30 years ago, are now homeless once again - this time due to floods that devastated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and other parts of the country.
Azakhel Refugee Camp, spreading over several kilometres of land, was a bustling community some weeks ago, but is now a flat stretch of land. The floods have completely destroyed the camp and the only structures left intact are the mosques built of concrete.
Azakhel accommodated around 6,000 Afghan families who are now spending a hard time on the Nowshera-Peshawar GT Road near the camp.
Hamim Khan, a resident of Gardez province of Afghanistan who lived in the camp for around 25 years, said that after the refugees shifted to GT Road and started living in tents, the camp land owners demolished the remaining mud houses of the refugees.
DCO Nowshera Ali Anan Qamar, when contacted, said that he stopped the Afghan refugees from reconstruction of their destroyed mud houses after receiving applications from land owners requesting the district administration to refrain refugees from rebuilding their houses.
Refugees said that the camp land owners had warned them of severe consequences if they started houses’ reconstruction in the camp.
“We are not in a position to leave the camp for our native land. We will reconstruct our houses in the camp,” the Afghan refugees said adding that law and order situation was not good in Pakhtun areas of Afghanistan. They said that no one could displace them and they would build their houses in Azakhel.
The Afghan Commissionerate and UNHCR has intervened into the matter and called a joint meeting of Afghan refugees and the camp’s land owners on September 15 to resolve the issue peacefully.
Official sources said that a memorandum had also been signed between Pakistan and Afghanistan under which Afghan refugees could live in Pakistan till 2012.
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