The administration in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber district on Friday said that it has begun preparations for the evacuation of residents from the Maidan area of Tirah Valley ahead of a planned operation.
District officials said that thousands of families will be relocated from January 10 to 25, with registration underway at Paindi Cheena for three days. The overall population of the Maidan area is estimated at 130,000.
As many as 2,500 families have already been registered, and displaced families have been provided with advance financial aid of Rs250,000 each.
According to the administration, every relocating family will also receive Rs50,000 per month to secure housing of their choice. Houses completely destroyed during the operation will be compensated at Rs3 million, while partially damaged homes will receive Rs1 million, they added.
Officials said that the operation against militants is expected to conclude within two months, after which the rehabilitation and return process will begin on April 5.
The preparation for the operation against militants comes as KP, which shares a porous border with Afghanistan, has witnessed a sharp spike in terrorist incidents.
An annual report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies mentioned that KP experienced the most significant surge in terrorist incidents in 2025.
The fatalities from terrorist attacks “rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025” – more than 40% year-on-year increase in the province.
Earlier this week, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that nearly 71% of terrorist incidents reported in 2025 were from KP. The ISPR DG said that law enforcement agencies carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country, out of which, 14,658 IBOs were conducted in KP.agencies