Defence Minister Khawaja Asif categorically denied that any military operation is being launched in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Asif characterized the recent mass displacement of thousands of families as “routine seasonal migration.” He asserted that the movement of roughly 65% of the population away from the highlands during winter snowfall is a centuries-old custom and not a forced evacuation ordered by the military or the federal government.
The Minister heavily criticized the PTI-led provincial government, headed by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, for “politicizing” the situation. Asif alleged that the provincial administration negotiated a Rs4 billion migration package directly with a local jirga that included members of the banned TTP, using the displacement to mask its failure to provide schools, hospitals, and police stations in the region. He claimed the army remains “nowhere on the radar” and continues to rely solely on Intelligence-Based Operations (IBOs) to minimize civilian casualties, rather than full-scale kinetic actions.
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Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar called for a unified national stance on terrorism, warning that bickering between the center and the province only benefits militants. He urged the federal government to compensate those who were told to leave their homes if no formal evacuation order exists. With families currently stranded in freezing conditions in Bara and Peshawar, the humanitarian crisis has become a central flashpoint in the ongoing friction between Islamabad and the KP administration.
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