By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: The provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials said the adverse weather had stalled the evacuation of residents from the restive Tirah valley in the northwest, leaving an estimated 15 percent of families still in their homes amid shortages of food and other essentials, as federal and provincial authorities traded blame over the displacement process, Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The evacuation, which has seen around 80-85 percent of residents leave the valley so far, was temporarily halted due to heavy snowfall, according to district administration officials. Those who had already departed but became stranded by snowstorms reached the town of Bara after two days of rescue operations, the officials added.
The 110-kilometre road from Tirah to Bara has been plagued by slow registration at multiple checkpoints, compounding the hardships for displaced families, many of whom spent nights on the road in freezing conditions. Though the exact number of families arriving in Bara remains unclear, officials estimated by Tuesday that only about 15 percent of residents were yet to be evacuated. The final evacuation deadline has been extended without a new date set, in response to the weather challenges. “The relaxation was given in light of weather-related hurdles, as it was imperative to give the Tirah people some ‘space’ prior to the restart of their final evacuation after an improvement in weather condition,” one official explained, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Local media reports indicated that families remaining in the valley due to the suspension were facing acute shortages of edibles, with authorities barring entry into the area. In Bara, tribal elders, former parliamentarians and political party representatives accused both the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial governments of compelling families to leave their homes to clear the way for another military operation.
Hamidullah Jan Afridi, a former member of the National Assembly, demanded an immediate halt to what he called the “inhuman treatment” of displaced families. He called for transparency in the registration process and for honoring all commitments made with a 24-member jirga of Tirah elders before the displacement began.
Afridi also sought an end to political interference in registration and due compensation for losses incurred by Tirah residents during the displacement. Hashim Khan Afridi, president of the Bara Siyasi Ittehad, said the decision on the military operation and forced displacement was made jointly by the federal and provincial governments following consultations with local tribal elders. He demanded an open audit of funds allocated for Tirah internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the sharing of relevant data with residents of both Tirah and Bara.
To speed up and improve transparency in the registration process, the district administration has expanded the number of centers in Bara. In addition to the Paindi Cheena center, four new ones have been set up in Alamgudar, Bar Qambarkhel, Malakdin Khel and Qambarabad. Separate desks for female registration have been established at all centers, addressing complaints from displaced families that women were previously required to register alongside men, which they said violated cultural and traditional norms.
District administration officials, local tribal elders, bank staff and employees from a mobile phone company have been stationed at the centers for immediate verification and issuance of SIM cards to Tirah families. Officials said previous polio vaccination records would be used to verify genuine IDPs and ensure timely provision of basic necessities.
Sources in Bara said most newly arrived families from Tirah were staying with relatives in various parts of the town, while some had secondary homes there. A limited number had moved to suburbs of Peshawar, where they own properties. Authorities have also begun registering hundreds of Zakhakhel families at Paindi Cheena after resolving issues with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) staff. The Zakhakhel families had earlier been denied registration on grounds that their computerised national identity cards were issued from Landi Kotal tehsil and they were not considered actual residents of Tirah.
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