Khyber Jirga holds second round of talks with militants

The second round of negotiations between the Khyber Grand Jirga and two militant groups in the Tirah Valley was held on Tuesday, during which both sides discussed the possibility of the groups vacating the area, jirga sources said.

The meeting took place in the Tirah Bagh area and was attended by Malik Tajuddin, Mufti Muhammad Ijaz, Malik Razzaq Zakha Khel, Malik Tahir Khan, Malik Zair Ahmad Shah, Malik Khalid Khan, and Malik Parvez from Tehsil Landi Kotal, along with leaders of the Bara Political Alliance.

Jirga members met representatives of two militant factions. One group included representatives of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Lashkar-e-Islam, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, while the other was linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to the sources, the jirga conveyed a clear message to both groups that failure to vacate the area would make a security operation unavoidable, which could result in the displacement of residents and heavy human and material losses.