After weeks of protracted deliberations with security and administration officials, tribal elders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s restive Tirah valley finally agreed to start vacating their homes from January 10, ahead of an operation against militants, after reaching a written agreement with the district administration.
The deadlock had persisted between the valley’s tribal elders and government officials over the launch of a military operation in the valley as well as the relocation of families to prevent collateral damage.
Sources among the 24-member jirga, who negotiated the written agreement on the displacement process with the district administration, said that the entire Tirah valley would be vacated by January 25, 2026, thus paving the way for the long-anticipated military operation against all proscribed militant groups currently holed up in the valley.
Spelling out the terms and conditions of the written agreement, the jirga said that the district administration agreed to pay Rs3 million to those whose houses were completely damaged and Rs1 million to those whose houses were partially damaged, respectively, during the military operation, which will be launched once the evacuation is completed.
They said that the jirga was also assured that every family would receive Rs250,000 through JazzCash or Easypaisa upon biometric verification at the time of registration at the Bagh Markaz and Paindi Cheena registration centers.
Each family would further be provided with a monthly stipend of Rs50,000 until April 5, 2026, when the return process would begin following the completion of the military operation, the sources added.
The district administration also agreed to arrange free transportation for the departing families, along with the provision of free health services during their journey to their next destination.
It was further decided during the deliberations held at Khyber House that families who had already left their homes would be included in the survey of newly displaced families, with the head of each family required to report to either the Bagh Markaz or Paindi Cheena registration center for biometric verification before January 25, 2026.
A representative jirga of Tirah elders had earlier presented a list of demands to security and administrative officials, which included Rs8 million and Rs4 million as compensation for fully and partially damaged houses, respectively, along with Rs500,000 for every departing family.
The demands were, however, toned down to a limit mutually agreed upon by the security and administrative officials and the jirga members, with the Tirah elders left with no option but to accept a written agreement as time was running out for the launch of a decisive military operation.
Sources among the jirga members insisted that collateral damage from indiscriminate artillery shelling of suspected militants’ hideouts and quadcopter attacks was a major concern for most residents of the Tirah valley, while security officials argued that the presence of militants in congested residential areas was a major obstacle to executing intelligence-based military operations (IBOs).
They said that the forceful occupation of private houses by militant groups and their frequent changes of location were also a source of continuous trouble and inconvenience, with security officials constantly insisting on the complete relocation of Tirah residents to pave the way for a decisive push against all outlawed militant groups.
Security officials, in consultation with local elders, had earlier agreed on limited internal displacement during the IBOs, with families from a suspected locality relocated to a nearby safer area for a limited period and returning home upon the completion of the IBOs.
However, this failed to alleviate the suffering of local residents, while security forces were forced to launch frequent IBOs whenever militant groups re-entered areas previously declared safe.
“It’s imperative that we leave the entire valley at the disposal of the security forces after our complete relocation to safer locations, far from the heat of the military operations in Tirah,” a jirga member told.
The jirga member, however, firmly insisted on the demand that there be no further displacement once the anticipated military operation is completed, with a strong assurance of no future IBOs in areas cleared after the major operation.
MNA Iqbal Afridi and MPA Abdul Ghani, along with members of the Bara Siyasi Ittehad, who had vehemently opposed forced displacement and the subsequent military operations in Tirah, were left out of the intense deliberations between the 24-member Tirah jirga and district administration officials.
Later, responding to a query about his absence from the Friday jirga, MNA Iqbal Afridi insisted that military operations in the merged districts had never achieved the desired results and had instead proved to be a source of destruction and prolonged displacement of innocent tribesmen.
He regretted being declared a proclaimed offender following the registration of numerous allegedly false First Information Reports (FIRs) against him, as he had consistently raised his voice against the military operations and forced displacements, which he said were actually aimed at gaining unlawful control over the natural resources of the newly merged districts.
Last month at least five terrorists affiliated with the proscribed Tekreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed in an IBO in Tirah valley.
In September, at least two dozen residents of Tirah, including women and children, lost their lives in blasts, which officials claim were caused by terrorists storing and manufacturing explosive devices in houses.