KHYBER: After weeks of talks with security and administration officials, tribal elders from the restive Tirah valley have agreed about the vacation of houses by residents from January 10 for the much-anticipated military operation against terrorists and made a written agreement with the district administration about it.

Sources in a 24-member jirga that negotiated the agreement regarding displacement with the district administration, told Dawn that all residents would vacate the Tirah valley by Jan 25, 2026, paving the way for the militant operation against all proscribed terrorist groups currently holed up in the valley.

They said that the district administration had agreed to pay Rs3 million and Rs1 million for the destroyed and damaged houses and payment of Rs250,000 to every family through digital wallets at the time of registration at the Bagh Markaz and Paindi Cheena centres.

The jirga members said that all families would also be provided with a monthly stipend of Rs50,000 each until April 5, 2026, when their return was planned following the completion of the military operation.

Elders held talks with security, admin officials for weeks

The district administration also agreed to arrange free transportation for the departing families along with the provision of free health service during their journey. It was decided during the talks at the Khyber House that families which had already left their houses would be included in the survey of the new displaced families, with the head of each family required to report to the Bagh Markaz or Paindi Cheena registration centre for biometric verification before Jan 25.

A representative jirga of Tirah elders earlier presented a list of their demands to the security and administrative officials, including Rs8 million and Rs4 million compensation for each destroyed and damaged house, respectively, and Rs500,000 payment for every departing family.

However, the demands were “toned down” as decided by the security and administrative officials and the jirga members, leaving Tirah elders with no option but to agree to the written agreement as the time ran out for the launch of a decisive military operation against terrorists.

Sources among jirga members insisted that collateral damage due to indiscriminate artillery shelling of terrorist hideouts and quadcopter strikes was a major concern of most Tirah residents. Security officials believed that the presence of terrorists in the congested residential localities was a major hurdle to most intelligence-based military operations (IBOs).

They said that forced occupation of houses by terrorist groups and their frequent change of locations were also a source of continuous trouble and inconvenience to them, with security officials constantly insisting on a complete relocation of Tirah residents for a decisive push against outlawed groups.

Earlier, security officials, in consultations with local elders, had agreed on the limited scale internal displacement during IBOs and the relocation of families to a nearby safer place for a limited period of time before return on the completion of IBOs.

However, the sufferings of residents continued as security forces were forced to launch frequent crackdowns as the terrorists re-entered the areas declared safe after completion of IBO.

“It’s imperative that we leave the entire valley at the disposal of the security forces through our complete relocation to safer locations, far from the heat of the military operations in Tirah,” a jirga member told Dawn.

He, however, insisted that there shouldn’t be any displacement after the military operation was successfully completed by April 2026.

Dawn has also learnt that local MNA Iqbal Afridi and MPA Abdul Ghani, along with the Bara Siyasi Ittehad’s members, who had vehemently opposed forced displacement and subsequent military operations in Tirah, were left out of the late Friday deliberations between the Tirah jirga and administration officials.

When asked about his absence from the talks, MNA Iqbal Afridi told Dawn that military operations in the merged tribal districts had never achieved the desired results and rather proved to be a source of destruction and prolonged displacement of innocent tribesmen.

He regretted that he was declared a proclaimed offender after registration of numerous “false” FIRs as he had always raised his voice against the military operations and forced displacements, which were actually aimed at taking unlawful control of the natural resources of the merged districts.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025