PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday urged the federal government to retract a statement and tender an apology over “false” claims that Tirah residents were never asked by federal authorities or the military to leave their homes ahead of a planned offensive against terrorists.

“If the statement is not withdrawn, I will call a jirga of the Afridi tribe next Sunday over the issue,” the chief minister told the provincial assembly during a session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.

The chief minister said the federal government’s assertion about the Tirah operation was a message of confrontation between the provincial and federal governments and state institutions besides being a death warrant for the 24-member committee that was forced to sign the evacuation agreement.

He insisted that the Centre’s press release on Tirah issue amounted to a “no confidence” in its representatives, including Peshawar corps commander and the Frontier Corps inspector general.

Insists in PA that PTI’s warning about militants’ regrouping was ignored

Mr Afridi added that he had issued directions for not inviting both of them to any jirga in the future and that all communications with them should take place in writing and not verbally.

He said his party PTI had warned of militants’ regrouping in the hills but the warning was ignored, encouraging them to come down.

The CM said the militants could have been stopped but as no steps were taken, they reached residential areas, leaving residents confused about how to respond.

He said the militants targeted people for denying meals, while the military acted against them for serving food to militants.

The chief minister said that the security crisis was not a failure of politicians, provincial government or religious leadership as the decisions, taken behind closed doors, failed to restore peace in the province despite 22 major and 14,000 intelligence-based operations.

He said a 15-point resolution was approved following a meeting of almost all political and religious parties in the house, with one point declaring that a military action was no solution to militancy, but even then, Tirah residents were forced to evacuate amid heavy snowfall.

“Your intention is not to eliminate militants but to belittle me and my government,” he said.

Mr Afridi insisted that he was first called a smuggler and then a militant, but both narratives bounced back.

He said that repeated attempts were made to threaten him, but he remained steadfast and would always stand with the people of the province.

“No one can force me into abandoning my ideology,” he said.

The CM said the forced evacuation was an attempt to turn Tirah residents against the provincial government but that didn’t happen as the people knew that the decisions taken behind closed doors caused their misery.

He said those at the helm of affairs considered KP a “laboratory for experiments” but the residents would resist military operations.

Mr Afridi said he and his party criticised flawed policies over repeated failures and even offered solutions to issues facing the province.

Leader of the Opposition Dr Ibadullah said the National Action Plan against terrorism was devised in 2014, leading to the launch of the military operation Zarb-i-Azb that eliminated militancy, but then prime minister Imran Khan brought militants back. He added that KP received Rs800 billion from the Centre for fighting terrorism but not even a single police station was established in the merged tribal districts.

The opposition leader said a committee, formed in August 2025, gave three options: militants should vacate the region but they refused; form armed militia to fight militants but that never happened, and finally to evacuate the area for operation.

He said the commissioner and the deputy commissioner were part of the jirga, while Rs4 billion was released following the provincial cabinet’s approval, with CM Afridi being in the chair.

“You have sanctioned the amount before releasing it but are verbally saying something else,” he said.

Special assistant to the CM Shafi Jan said the federal government and ISPR director general first confirmed the Tirah military offensive but later withdrew the claim, formally denying launching a military operation.

MPA Ghani Afridi said the chief minister was opposed to military operations in the province.

He said despite the jirga’s opinion that military operation is not a solution to militancy, Tirah residents were forced to leave by curfews were imposed and food rations were banned.

Also in the session, lawmakers from Peshawar, Kohat, Dir, Tank and other districts complained about poor mobile phone connectivity in their areas, prompting the chair to direct the chief secretary to call heads of all cellular companies in the provinces to ensure early resolution of the issue.

Minister for higher education Mena Khan Afridi laid the KP Universities Amendment Bill, 2026, in the house. The chair referred it to the relevant house committee to return it with recommendations in seven days.

The assembly passed the KP Adhoc Lecturers Regularisation of Services Amendment Bill, 2026, and KP Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Amendment Bill, 2026.

It unanimously adopted a resolution, condemning Indian forces’s aggression in the occupied Kashmir and paying tribute to Kashmiris for rendering sacrifices. It vowed to continue supporting Kashmiris in their freedom struggle.

The assembly also passed a resolution, rejecting Pakistan’s act of joining the Gaza Board of Peace.

The resolution noted that the board, made by the US and Israel, had neglected Gaza and Palestinian leadership and that the US supported Israeli aggression and vetoed ceasefire multiple times.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026