Asif rules out military operation in Tirah; terms displacement ‘routine’ seasonal migration

ISLAMABAD/PAKISTAN:

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that the current displacement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tirah Valley was part of "routine" seasonal migration and added that there was no question of a military operation in the area amid a raging controversy over situation betweent he federal and provincial governments.

Following a surge in unrest and escalating security concerns, large-scale displacement is underway in Tirah Valley, with thousands of families leaving their homes for safer areas, including Bara and Peshawar.

The situation has caused the federal and provincial government to be at loggerheads with the former rubbishing the notion of planned or forced displacement while the latter has rejected as "misleading and factually incorrect" the federal government's claim that displacement of the residents of the Tirah valley of Khyber district is voluntary in nature.

Addressing a press conference on the matter in Islamabad, flanked by Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar and Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Information for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Asif dismissed reports of forced displacement in Tirah Valley as a "misrepresentation" of what he said was "routine" seasonal migration.

"This [issue] which has been characterised as a crisis is actually no crisis. This is routine."

Speaking about the controversy, he said residents of six to seven valleys in the area migrated for four to six months when snowfall began, moving to areas with less severe cold while leaving one or two people behind for security.

“This is not a crisis but a routine practice that has been ongoing for years and can be verified.”

Asif said that a jirga was held on December 11 with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group present, which included 24 to 36 points regarding the migration. He said the TTP negotiated with the provincial government for a Rs4 billion migration package that was subsequently approved.

The minister emphasised that the army, which was present in the area for defence purposes, had no connection with this arrangement, clarifying that the package was strictly between the jirga and the provincial government.

He further explained that years ago, it was strategically decided that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) would be more effective than full-scale operations in the area to minimise collateral damage and civilian casualties.

"The army has abandoned operations in the favour of IBOs for a long time ... There is no question of a operation there [in Tirah Valley]. The migration there is routine," Asif reiterated.

Criticising the provincial government's performance in the area, the defence minister pointed out the complete absence of hospitals, schools, police stations, and civilian law enforcement in the region despite promises.

He said the federal government had begun a process to reverse this by building schools and hospitals so citizens could benefit from the profits, while suggesting that the provincial government's interests are connected with the TTP in jointly exploiting this resource.

Referring to jirgas held in December, the minister reiterated that "the army is nowhere on the radar in this situation."

Asif accused the KP government of trying to shift "all the burden of its failures, shortcomings onto the army or onto some such operation which doesn't even exist".

He emphasised that the migration was a centuries-old practice linked to harsh winter conditions. "I am telling you, the way the weather is in the entire belt, including in Bannu, this entire custom, routine, happens every winter for centuries, going back to the British Raj," he said, adding that the PTI government attempted to present the situation as unusual.

The minister questioned the effectiveness of camps reportedly built for Rs2-4 billion, saying those camps "cannot save the people from the cold, including kids and the elderly". He said the movement of people happened every year, but "this year it's to hide failures, ineptitude and shift responsibility", adding that authorities could even take journalists there to see the reality on ground.

He reiterated that operations had not been conducted in the area for many years, though IBOs continued with less collateral damage. "Operations, presence of the army — all hypothetical," he said.

The minister offered federal support, saying if the provincial government wanted to improve conditions for residents, "the federal will provide all the wherewithal to the provincial government."

However, he criticised what he termed the politicisation of the issue, stating that "political mileage is being extracted from it".

Responding to a question, he reiterated that the people in Tirah escaped from the snow and migration occurred, especially in the highlands, with historical evidence for it.

"This will keep going on," he added, further saying that the federal government and the military had no connection it.

"The army conducts IBOs there and will continue to do so."

He said that there were nearly 500 TTP members in the region but operations were conducted based on intelligence to weed them out.

The information minister supported the defence minister's position and referenced an official gazetteer from the 1880s which stated that "the Afridis of Khyber and Akakhel are different from other tribes. They descend and migrate to other regions during the winter months and come back to Tirah in the summers."

Tarar added that the governtment was "talking on the basis of facts and research", citing a book titled "The Khyber" published by Edward A Murphy in 1899. The minister noted that the author stated the official gazetteer confirmed that the tribes migrated every winter.

"This is an established fact," he said.

Meanwhile, Wali questioned the motivation behind what he called "the drama that has been created". He asked journalists to investigate how much of the Rs4b allocated actually went to the people, suggesting that "the PTI government takes money and launches street movements" through such programmes.

He pointed out that the notification shown by the defence minister clearly included the deputy commissioner stating the movement was voluntary. "This is a project created for money," he said, emphasising that "the Pakistan Army has no connection to it" regarding the alleged forced depopulation.

The coordinator said that it was clear to the people of K-P that "to make the February 8 protest successful, these people are being made into PTI’s furnace engine". He described the situation as "dirty politics"/