PESHAWAR: Families fleeing their homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley were left stranded on snow-covered roads on Friday as heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures gripped large parts of the province.
The evacuation from Tirah’s Maidan area began on January 9 ahead of a planned security operation expected to last two months, with rehabilitation and return scheduled to start from April 5. However, severe weather disrupted movement, leaving many evacuees stuck en route.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the Miraban–Tirah Valley Road was blocked due to heavy snowfall. Several other key routes across the province — including Kaghan–Naran, Battal and the Lowari Tunnel — were also closed, stranding residents and tourists.
Snow accumulation affected roads in Buner, Swat, Chitral, Lower Dir and Kolai-Palas districts as well, while authorities deployed heavy machinery to clear blocked routes.
Rescue 1122 said more than 100 personnel from Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Khyber districts were engaged in rescue operations in Tirah. So far, over 25 vehicles carrying 65 stranded people have been rescued, with operations continuing to expand.
The extreme cold triggered multiple cases of hypothermia, particularly among children. Officials at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) said at least 20 children from Tirah were shifted to the hospital with symptoms including shivering, fatigue and dangerously low body temperatures.
HMC’s Dr Mohammad Mushtaq told Geo News that severe hypothermia could also cause breathing difficulties in children, stressing that warm environments were crucial to stabilising patients and preventing complications.
Special Assistant to the KP Chief Minister on Information, Shafi Jan, said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was personally overseeing relief efforts. The chief minister also visited a private medical facility in Peshawar to inquire about members of a Tirah family injured in a road accident during evacuation.
At least two children were killed and three others injured when their vehicle plunged into a gorge while fleeing the valley. CM Afridi assured the injured of full medical support and directed authorities to deploy additional machinery and manpower to keep Tirah roads open.
The Pakistan Army remained actively involved in relief operations, rescuing at least 20 stranded residents and shifting them to safer locations. At the Tirah Administrative Complex, 200 beds were prepared for evacuees, with food, warm shelter and other basic facilities being provided.
Severe snowfall and landslides also prompted the KP health department to set up an emergency ward at HMC and form a Rapid Response Committee in Peshawar to oversee medical services and the distribution of medicines, while hospitals in Tirah were placed on high alert.
