Peshawar, Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people have fled the Tirah Valley in northwestern Pakistan in recent weeks, residents said, after mosque announcements warned families to evacuate ahead of a possible military action against Islamist militants.
Residents said they moved to nearby towns despite snowfall and cold winter temperatures, while officials reported that thousands of families were leaving and being registered for assistance.
Mosque announcements prompt departures
Residents of the Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, said warnings broadcast from mosques urged families to leave the area to avoid possible fighting.
“The announcements were made in the mosque that everyone should leave, so everyone was leaving. We left too,” said Gul Afridi, a shopkeeper who fled with his family to the town of Bara, 71 km east of the Tirah Valley.
Local officials in the region, who asked to remain unidentified, said thousands of families have fled and are being registered for assistance in nearby towns.
Security concerns and official responses
The Tirah Valley has long been described as a sensitive security zone and a stronghold for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an Islamist militant group that has carried out attacks on Pakistani security forces.
The Pakistani government has not announced the evacuation or any planned military operation. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif denied any operation was planned or underway in Tirah, calling the movement a routine seasonal migration driven by harsh winter conditions.
A Pakistani military source with knowledge of the matter said the relocation followed months of consultations involving tribal elders, district officials and security authorities over the presence of militants in Tirah, who the source said were operating among civilian populations and pressuring residents. The source, who asked to remain unidentified, said civilians were encouraged to temporarily leave to reduce the risk of harm as “targeted intelligence-based operations” continued, adding there had been no build-up for a large-scale offensive due to the area’s mountainous terrain and winter conditions.
What impact will the displacement have on families seeking assistance in nearby towns?
