CHITRAL: A group of 10 persons belonging to Chitral valley, who were doing jobs in various provinces of Afghanistan, were produced before the media here on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference, District Coordination Officer of Chitral Rehmatullah Wazir said that a total of 34 persons from Chitral had gone to Afghanistan for jobs. He said 14 persons had returned home earlier while the 10 men had come back now. "The remaining persons will also return," he said.
To a question, Rehmatullah Wazir said the police and secret agencies were keeping a close eye on the returnees. Those who have returned home included Ijazur Rehman, Saifur Rehman, Javedur Rehman, Waliur Rehman, Ebadur Rehman, Sardar Wali and Mastan belonging to Bamburet and Waliur Rehman and Rafiullah hailing from Ramboor.
They told the reporters that they had relatives in Afghanistan's Nuristan province, who helped them find the jobs. "We entered Afghanistan via Arandu border. We didn't have any difficulty in acquiring identity cards there," one of the returnees said.
He said he had been working in Afghanistan for the last one year. "We were in touch with our families. They asked us to come back so we have returned," he explained. "Actually we were fed up with unemployment and left with the only option but to seek jobs in Afghanistan. We were getting Rs25,000 monthly," he added.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department had said in a statement some time back that many young men belonging to the border areas in Chitral district had joined the Afghan National Army (ANA).
The statement said the department had reliable information that several jobless youth hailing from Chitral were serving in Afghanistan. The authorities in Chitral had asked the families of those who were serving in Afghanistan to call them back.
The district coordination officer of Chitral had presented before the media in August some 14 young men, who had reportedly joined the ANA. They had also told the media that none of them had been recruited in the ANA or the Afghan National Police. They said they had gone to Afghanistan for jobs and there was no truth in the reports that they were serving in the ANA.