PESHAWAR: Mehtab Singh still remembers the moment when he had to suddenly leave everything he owned including his well-established house and fields and move to Peshawar. The year was 2009 when Singh, a resident of Shalobar Qambar Khel in the Bara area of Khyber Agency, decided to escape following violence and extremism against Sikhs in his area. He sought refuge in Peshawar, along with other members from his community, where he is living to this day.

Mehtab Singh used to run a general store in Shalobar Qamber Khel. It was supplemented by the income from the produce from his fields. But the sudden turn of events and the operations against extremists forced him to move to Peshawar.

Where did they go?

Sikh families lived in Khyber as well as the Orakzai and Kurram agencies. There were more than a thousand Sikh families in different parts of the erstwhile Khyber Agency before its merger with KP.

Around 450 families lived in Kurram and some 250 in Orakzai. Some of them left their homes due to the deteriorating law and order situation and moved to Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh in Peshawar. Many others were sent to Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Hassan Abdal. Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandar Committee and Gurdwara Bhai Joga Singh Committee took the responsibility for relocation.

Sajnan Singh from Bara owned seven jeribs (a traditional unit of land measurement equivalent to almost half an acre) of land in his hometown. He also ran a garment shop in the Bara Bazaar.

The shop was destroyed during the operation while Sajnan Singh had to relocate to Peshawar with his family and community members. Sajnan said that he has been waiting for the restoration of peace for the last ten years. "I was hopeful that I'd be able to return to the area." It now seems unlikely, he adds, following attacks on Sikhs in Peshawar.

"If we are not even safe in Peshawar, how can we return to our hometown."

Sajnan says he had to abandon his home, life and livelihood due to the operation against militants. "But I have not received any compensation yet," he said, adding that they were promised restitution.

Mehtab Singh tells a similar tale. His family could not get registered for the housing compensation survey because he could not return to Shalobar.

Pre-dating Pakistan

The ancestors of Baba Garpal Singh, the representative of the Sikh community for the merged tribal areas, had settled in Khyber long before Pakistan was formed.

Baba Garpal Singh said that there were thousands of Sikh families in Orakzai and Kurram, including in the beautiful Tirah Valley. However, during the wave of extremism in 2009, the Sikh community felt the need to relocate after the extremists broke into their homes demanding protection money, disrespecting their sacred and religious books, and women.

They moved to Peshawar, Nankana Sahib, Hassan Abdal, Faisalabad, Karachi and Sargodha. Around 600 families settled in Peshawar, numbering about 15000 people.

According to Baba Garpal Singh, most of the people living in these areas were either farmers or businessmen. The government has no data on them as the gurdwaras (Sikh place of worship) took the responsibility of relocation. "Hence, these internally displaced people (IDP) did not register with the government."

Later, the Sikh leaders prepared lists of displaced families and handed them over to the local administration and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). "Only 30 out of the more than the 400 families that relocated from Tirah have been facilitated."

Anxious return

In Kurram, Orakzai and Tirah, a few families have returned. Some of them have resumed their businesses but the situation is deteriorating again, they say. "Sikhs are scared because they have been targeted in Peshawar for some time now," Garpal added.

Garpal insists that the Sikh families want to return to their ancestral land. "Who would not want to go to these paradise-like valleys such as Tirah, These places are very peaceful," he said.

He said Sikh families want their homes and historic gurdwaras restored so that they can perform their religious rites. "There are historical gurdwaras in Ibrahimzai, Malana and Malikhel areas of Orakzai and Kurram."

The community has demanded that the government re-open these historic and religious sites, even if its once a year. Sikhs can perform their religious rites, while this step would also boost religious tourism, he said.

Still no compensation?

It is almost seven years since the Khyber operation ended, but when it comes to compensation for the houses and shops destroyed in the area, the story remains incomplete. This has created a sense of alienation within the community and made some Sikhs openly resentful.

Some complained that the survey was not completed and some said they were unable to register. As they point out, seven years is long enough to complete any survey.

Aaj News got in touch with the KP PDMA, which is responsible for registering and providing assistance to displaced people from the erstwhile tribal areas, regarding the issues highlighted by the areas Sikh population.

"According to SOPs, the most important thing for registration of any TDP (temporarily displaced people) is their residential address," said KP PDMA spokesperson Ahsan Dawar. "If a person has two addresses on their identity card, they will not be deemed eligible for registration."

Dawar said that 1,160 displaced families from Tirah have returned to their areas so far and the next date of repatriation is June 26 to 30.

Compensation for houses and shops affected by the operation is the responsibility of the Citizen Losses Compensation Program. It works in collaboration with the district administration, surveys the houses of returning TDPs and provides them with forms on the spot. They also asses the property to determine compensation. An official, who did not want to be named, said that 7,000 house surveys have been completed while another 7,500 forms have been issued.

However, it has recently come to light that there is no separate data on the number of displaced minorities in the erstwhile tribal areas. The minority communities living in the affected areas have not been registered separately but their names were added along with the others. A survey of those returning to the area is also being conducted.

However, due to technical reasons, matters have been delayed. But those responsible for it are unable to elaborate on what these technicalities are.