KHYBER: Residents of the militancy-hit Tirah Valley and Upper Bara have accused their elected representatives of ignoring their plight, despite their return home years ago. Many say that since repatriation in 2015 and 2022, they have not seen their lawmakers visit the region.
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Locals complained that MNA Iqbal Afridi and MPA Abdul Ghani, who also heads the District Development Advisory Committee, have yet to engage with Upper Bara communities. With growing frustration, residents now place their hopes in the newly elected Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, who belongs to the area.
They said the Khyber district administration and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority have failed to complete the long-promised survey of damaged houses. As a result, families continue to live in collapsing structures or temporary shelters during the harsh winter.
Complain survey of damaged houses not completed, forcing them to live in dilapidated structures. https://t.co/DpaHVHHZh5
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) December 4, 2025
More than 2,500 families, mostly from Upper Bara, were also never granted internally displaced persons (IDP) status after their forced displacement. Locals said this deprived them of assistance routinely extended to IDPs from other conflict-hit regions.
Residents listed a wide range of issues, with reconstruction of fully and partially damaged homes at the top of their demands. They said they still lack clean drinking water, electricity, functional hospitals and schools, and adequate irrigation and agricultural support.
Khalil Khan, a social activist, said literacy in Tirah is rapidly declining due to the absence of proper schools. He added that a Type-D Hospital announced in 2015 has yet to be built, forcing people to rely on private clinics or travel to Bara, Jamrud or Peshawar.
Warning of rising vulnerability among youth, he stressed the need for skill training and employment opportunities. Another resident, Suhbat Shah Afridi, noted that limited NGO assistance and support from security forces were the only sources of development so far.
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He urged the provincial government to facilitate large-scale NGO-led projects to address longstanding deprivation. Dawn contacted MNA Iqbal Afridi and MPA Abdul Ghani for comment, but neither responded.