KHYBER: Thousands of families remain displaced from Tirah Valley in Khyber district as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government continues their relocation amid a deteriorating security situation and harsh winter conditions.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the evacuation process began on January 10. So far, 11,400 families have been registered, with more than 10,000 shifted to safer locations, including Bara and Peshawar.
On Wednesday alone, 1,719 families were registered at five centres in Bara. Each family is being provided between Rs22,000 and Rs44,000 as transport assistance, along with a monthly housing allowance of Rs50,000.
Heavy snowfall three days ago stranded hundreds of families travelling in trucks, prompting large-scale rescue operations. Authorities said at least 2,200 people were rescued from snowbound routes during the operation.
Mohammad Khan, a resident of Maidan in Tirah, said he was relocating to Peshawar after receiving government assistance.
Meanwhile, Kamal-ud-Din, head of a 24-member negotiation committee from Tirah, told a private news channel that the provincial government had accepted 31 demands presented by local elders. He said the relocation process would be completed by the end of January, with each family receiving Rs250,000 in advance and a monthly stipend of Rs50,000.
He added that families whose homes were destroyed during the operation would receive Rs3 million in compensation, while those with partially damaged houses would be given Rs1 million. According to him, the military operation was expected to conclude within two months, after which residents would be allowed to return.
Amid the unfolding displacement, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced that a grand jirga of all tribes in Khyber district would be held on Sunday at Jamrud Football Stadium. He said residents would be asked whether their displacement was voluntary or forced.
“We will show the world that injustice is being done to us,” Afridi said. “The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not expendable, and their lives are not cheap.”
The situation has also triggered a clash of narratives between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government maintains that only limited intelligence-based operations against militants are under way and that no mass evacuation has been ordered.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the provincial government’s position as “misleading and factually incorrect,” saying the movement of people from Tirah was a routine seasonal migration. “This is not a crisis but a practice that has been ongoing for years and can be verified,” he said.
The KP government has rejected this claim. Chief Minister Afridi said a jirga of all political parties represented in the provincial assembly had unanimously agreed that military operations were not a solution to local issues.
“Despite this, decisions were taken behind closed doors to impose another operation. A 24-member committee, led by the corps commander and IG Frontier Corps, forced Tirah elders to vacate their homes despite heavy snowfall,” he alleged.
MNA Iqbal Afridi said the upcoming grand jirga should serve as a platform for national-level consultation to develop a joint strategy for the protection of displaced families, ensuring dignified returns and provision of basic services.
He said the decisions taken at the jirga would be conveyed to the federal government so that the issues faced by Tirah residents could be addressed on a priority basis. Local elders and political leaders have welcomed the jirga, expressing hope that it would lead to a constructive resolution for the displaced communities.
