KHYBER: Tribal elders in Tirah have reluctantly agreed to ‘internal migration’ on a temporary basis in case of selected intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in parts of the valley, where security forces suspected the presence of militants.

Sources in the valley told Dawn that the understanding regarding temporary internal displacement was reached during their protracted parlays with security officials in the valley with a group of elders calling for a grand Jirga to ascertain the view point of all the elders of leading Tirah tribes on the issue.

They however said that the April 10 grand Jirga was postponed at the eleventh hour after the security officials’ assurance that no forced displacement of families would be conducted for the IBOs, while the family of a 12 years old girl student, who was killed in a mortar shell fire in Mastikhel area a few days back, would also be given ‘adequate’ compensation.

Dawn also learnt from some local elders that while the local security officials had long been insisting for vacating of houses by the local residents during an operation, they also held a meeting with some senior security officials and commissioner Peshawar before Eidul Azha and conveyed to them their strong reservations against their forced displacement.

Understanding reached with security forces over intelligence based operations

They said that the killing of Amna in the mortar fire further infuriated the local residents who then staged a demonstration in front of the local army camp while also pelting stones on some military vehicles and vociferously demanding a halt to targeting private houses during the IBOs.

Sources said that a grand jirga was then convened on April 10 in order to take stock of the existing security situation along with conveying a clear message about their stern refusal about vacating their houses during the IBOs.

Local security officials then held several rounds of talks with the agitated Tirah elders on April 9 and finally convinced them to call off the jirga, with the elders reluctantly expressing their willingness for temporary internal migration, sources confided to Dawn.

“We agreed to the internal migration as this experiment was already tested in Zakhakhel and Battai Gutt area of Malakdinkhel in recent days with local families accommodated in nearby mosques and other safe locations while later returning to their homes after the conclusion of the IBO,” a Malakdinkhel elder told Dawn, adding that it was in light of that successful experiment of temporary displacement that we agreed to call off the April 10 jirga.

He said that Tirah residents had suffered a lot during the previous full-fledged military operations when the entire population of the valley was evicted with heavy bombardment badly damaging their decades old houses and they were still waiting for compensation for those losses.

“It is due to this reason that we are not willing to again leave our houses at the mercy of both the militants and the military only to find them completely or partially destroyed after the operations,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, former state minister and MNA from Bara, Hameedullah Jan Afridi, also paid a visit to Bara on April 9 and 10 and met local elders in his bid to acquire firsthand information about the current security situation in the valley and also to recommend some practical proposals to the concerned authorities for restoration of peace in the troubled valley.

Upon his return from Tirah, he told this correspondent that people of Tirah were in a state of constant fear due to the uncertain and confused situation with the majority of the Tirah elders and ordinary residents losing faith in restoration of a lasting peace in the valley.

He said Tirah residents had serious reservations about the ability of law enforcement agencies to effectively tackle the menace of militancy, while local elders were constantly denied an opportunity to propose effective strategy to handle the current situation.

He was also very critical of the role of both the federal and provincial governments about the Tirah situation as they had no real authority and suggested that the military establishment shall hold direct talks with the tribesmen, as they possess enough knowledge and experience to resolve such thorny issues.

On the other hand, sitting MNA Iqbal Afridi of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) also accused the federal government of not taking the Tirah issue seriously and alleged that his repeated efforts to highlight the issue on the floor of the National Assembly was thwarted by the speaker on the pretext of lack of quorum in the house.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2025