The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has released Rs500 million rupees to compensate victims of the Miranshah Bazaar in North Waziristan.

The funds were released through the efforts of the Advisor for Relief, Haji Naek Muhammad, according to the PDMA director general.

A cheque for Rs50 lacs has already been handed over to the Deputy Commissioner of North Waziristan.

The PDMA has assured that the remaining funds will be distributed among the affected traders according to established rules and regulations.

The authority emphasized that the compensation payments will be made in a transparent and fair manner, ensuring that funds are allocated based on merit, a point reiterated by the advisor.

Miranshah, once a bustling market and major commercial centre in Waziristan, was reduced to rubble by repeated attacks from terrorists after the Army launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014.

However, despite the passage of several years since the operation ended, traders are waiting to be compensated for their losses. The government constructed a bazaar consisting of over 1,300 shops in 2018 but traders have been adamant that they should be given monetary compensation and be allowed to complete construction on their own terms.