KHYBER: As fresh evacuation from the restive Tirah valley is in progress, displaced families have complained about mismanagement at the registration centres and frustrating wait at security checkpoints on the way to Bara.
Families told Dawn on arrival in Bara that they had an over 100km laborious journey with women, children and the elderly facing trouble the most.
They said that they were to wait for long hours at Bagh, Dwa Thoye and Paindi Cheena registration points in extreme cold weather in the open, without drinking water and food.
The families also complained that the ailing people didn’t have the required medicines and other health services.
Evacuation of families continues ahead of full-scale military operation against terrorists
They said that long queues of vehicles bringing displaced families from Tirah to Bara, Jamrud and Peshawar could be seen both at registration centres and security checkposts, forcing people to impatiently wait for their turn for registration.
The newly-displaced people said it took them three to four hours to acquire tokens from the Bagh Markaz registration centre, while another four to five hours were consumed by security clearance at checkpoints.
They said a number of the displaced families who had tied their entire belongings in bags and loaded onto the vehicles, had to spend the night at Paindi Cheena in utter helplessness.
The people said Paindi Cheena was the last registration point where they reached at midnight for final biometric entry after undergoing the “torturous” registration and security clearance process, prior to their arrival in Bara.
Most displaced persons argued that the evacuation in such miserable conditions could become a huge human tragedy as authorities had yet to comprehend the gravity of the situation as the registration centres were devoid of adequate facilities.
They also complained about a delay in provision of the promised transportation charges, saying the district administration and the Provincial Disaster Management authorities issued them “empty tokens” before paying half of the amount only when pressed.
An IDP told Dawn that the behaviour of the registration workers was unfriendly and non-cooperative and they rudely refused to offer any assistance and guidance to helpless families.
Some displaced persons claimed that the proscribed militant groups had taken hundreds of families hostage in areas under their control while forcibly stopping their vehicles and asking them to stay at their homes.
They insisted that law-enforcement authorities were not allowing food and other essential goods to be taken to different parts of Tirah as they wanted the residents to expedite their evacuation for an early full-scale military operation against terrorists in Tirah.
Sources said many families were finding it difficult to get vehicles due to their acute shortage, while most transporters had jacked up charges.
Shopkeepers at the Lar Bagh and Bar Bagh Markaz complained they struggled to shift merchandise to Bara for want of warehouses.
They said after sending their families to Bara, they had stayed back to make arrangements for proper and safe disposal of goods.
Sources in Tirah said the majority of newly-arrived IDPs had taken shelter with relatives, while some owned houses in different parts of Bara.
They said with no alternate residential facility from any department, some displaced families had rented houses and shops at the Qambarabad market near Bara Bazaar.
Meanwhile, the Bara Siyasi Ittehad and Bara Traders Association urged the district administration and PDMA to put up tent villages in Bara and Jamrud to handle the influx of Tirah families. Sources said that 450-500 families were reaching Bara daily.
Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2026