Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday categorically stated that no military operation was being carried out in Tirah Valley, terming the migration of people a routine and seasonal process due to harsh weather and snowfall.
Addressing a press conference along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Information Ikhtiar Wali Khan, the defence minister said, “There has been no operation in Tirah Valley for many years. These are all assumptions.”
He said that it was strategically decided that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were more effective than large-scale operations, adding that the armed forces had stopped such operations years ago in favour of IBOs.
Khawaja Asif said that IBOs would continue to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country’s soil. He said that every year around 60 to 65 percent of the population migrates to other areas due to severe weather conditions and heavy snowfall, a practice that has continued for decades and even over the past century.
The minister clarified that the armed forces deployed in the area had no role in the displacement. “This is an arrangement between the local jirga and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government,” he said.
He said that the KP government had approved a relief package of Rs4 billion for the people of Tirah Valley who migrate seasonally.
Coming down hard on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the provincial government was trying to pass its failure to others, including the army.
He said there was a complete absence of civilian law enforcement agencies and public service institutions in Tirah, adding that the area lacked police stations, schools and hospitals.
The minister said it had been agreed between the provincial government and the local jirga that hospitals, police stations and girls’ schools would be established in Tirah Valley.
Asif said the jirga in Tirah held meetings on December 11, 21 and 31 on the matter. “This jirga was constituted many years ago and all 24 of its members are on board. Now, in the presence of the jirga and the notification issued by the KP government, where does the military come into this?” he questioned.
He said hemp was being cultivated over more than 12,000 acres in Tirah, adding that each acre generated profits ranging from Rs3 million to Rs3.5 million.
He said hemp had multiple uses, including in medicines, construction material and bricks.
The minister said, “Hemp is cultivated there and the proceeds either go to politically connected individuals or the TTP. We have initiated measures to stop this so that local people benefit and schools and hospitals can be built.”
He said the federal government was ready to provide full assistance to the provincial government for the welfare and development of the people.
Replying to a question, the minister said the intensity of terrorism had increased in recent years following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. He said many armed forces personnel had been martyred, while many terrorists had also been eliminated.
He said that Pakistan had made five sincere attempts, but the Taliban government was not willing to give guarantees to stop the infiltration of terrorists into Pakistan.
In his address, Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said the migration of tribes from District Khyber during the winter is a historical norm, rejecting the “baseless narrative” peddled by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson.
The minister emphasized that the Afridi and Aka Khel tribes have a unique lifestyle, migrating from Tirah in winter and returning in summer.
Tarar noted that history bears witness to this seasonal migration, citing Edward A. Murphy’s 1899 book, The Khyber, which references an official gazetteer from 1880. He pointed out that this historical record explicitly documents the tribes’ habitual winter migration, describing it as an established reality recognized in international literature.
Responding to questions about the timing of the current movement, the minister explained that while winter traditionally began in October, climate change has significantly shifted seasonal cycles. He remarked that snowfall, which historically occurred in November, is now delayed until late January, representing a total seasonal shift.
He also referred to a notification issued by the KP government itself, which stated that the tribes are moving voluntarily. The minister urged provincial officials to avoid politicizing a centuries-old traditional practice.
Don’t impose closed-door decisions, warns KP CM
Separately, KP CM Afridi also issued a video statement on the situation in Tirah, condemning a planned “military operation” in the valley and warning that “decisions taken behind closed doors have once again pushed the region towards instability, displacement and distrust”.
The KP CM’s statement in Pashto was a repeat of his earlier rebuke of the Centre on the matter, in which he said that “people are being forcibly displaced due to a military operation, the decision for which was taken behind closed doors”. In his latest video statement, he said that “harsh conditions have once again been imposed on Tirah Valley”.
The CM further recalled that after PTI founder Imran Khan was removed from power in 2022, “warnings were issued in Khyber, Hazara, Malakand, Dera Ismail Khan and Waziristan about terrorism and instability again being imposed on the Pashtun belt”. “Peace jirgas and public mobilisation campaigns were organised to alert the people that their future was being traded without their consent,” he added.
He criticised the then-Pakistan Democratic Movement government for dismissing those warnings as “propaganda”, claiming that people came out in large numbers and rejected the “decisions taken behind closed doors”.
Afridi said that presently, there was peace in the districts where the decisions were rejected, while terrorism had reared its head in areas where the warnings were ignored.
“Decisions taken behind closed doors not just toppled a democratic government but also triggered the return of terrorism and economic collapse, forcing investors and young people to search for opportunities abroad,” he lamented.
Referring specifically to Tirah, he said he had raised his voice against “imposing decisions” that were taken without the public consent and questioned the logic of launching another operation when “22 major and more than 14,000 IBOs had failed to eliminate terrorism”.
The KP CM recalled that a jirga held at the KP Assembly had finalised a 15-point agenda. He said the jirga also unanimously agreed that a military operation was not a solution and that sustainable peace could only be achieved through dialogue and consensus.
Despite that, he said, another “operation was being imposed”. The CM also claimed that the 24-member committee that was said to have held talks on a military operation in Tirah was headed by the corps commander and frontier corps inspector general.
“Elders of the Afridi [tribe] were told to vacate their houses on the pretext of militants operating from residential areas. Despite people’s objections, they were forced to leave their homes during the harsh winter and amid snowfall.
He also condemned the information ministry’s statement on the situation in Tirah, according to which the valley’s residents were leaving their homes voluntarily.
The CM termed the statement “dangerous and an attempt to create conflict between the province and federal government and institutions”. It was also an attempt to “erode public trust in the leadership and state institutions”, he said.
Afridi reiterated his announcement of holding a grand jirga of all tribes residing in Khyber on the coming Sunday at 2pm at Jamrud Football Stadium. He said displaced people will be asked at the meeting whether they had left their homes voluntarily or were forced to do so.
“Then, the world will see that injustice is being done,” the CM remarked.