KHYBER: The Akkakhel Qaumi Council has expressed its serious reservations over the deteriorating security situation in their area and demand of the authorities to make arrangements for their evacuation.

In a meeting held with officials of the district administration on Tuesday, the council members apprised the assistant commissioner Bara, Talha Rafiq Alam, about the rapidly deteriorating security situation due to attacks on security check posts by militants and return attacks by the security forces.

They demanded of the authorities to set up registration points in consultations with senior members of the council and provide the affected families with all possible facilities.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of a surge in the terrorist activities with local residents braving artillery shelling on the militant hideouts and an abandoned security check post allegedly seized by armed militants affiliated with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Sources said that the current situation in Akkakhel was reminiscent of the grave situation in Malakdinkhel, Shalobar and Zakhakhel areas where families were forced to vacate their houses in late December last year.

They said that Akkakhel had recently turned into a battleground between the security forces and outlawed militant groups, leaving civilians trapped and at the mercy of the escalating violence.

Situated near the border with Orakzai district, the region has become a stronghold of militant groups after they shifted their focus from Malakdinkhel and adjoining areas, forcing the families to leave their homes in the wake of a possible military operation.

Sources within the council said that the official team headed by the assistant commissioner Bara sought time to discuss the Akkakhel evacuation and a possible package for the displaced families.

The council, however, made it clear to the officials that they would not agree to any forced displacement and would only leave their houses if they were granted IDP status.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2026