Tirah operation 'imposed without consent': Afridi

K-P CM warns against 'closed-door decisions', decries 'forced displacement' during winter

PESHAWAR:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has vehemently opposed the ongoing operation and forced displacement in Tirah Valley, warning that decisions taken "behind closed doors" had once again plunged the region into suffering and instability.

He decried that elderly people, women and children were being uprooted in freezing winter conditions.

In a detailed video message on Tuesday, the chief minister said that "extremely harsh conditions are once again being imposed on Tirah and the people are suffering the severe consequences of decisions taken behind closed doors".

He traced the current situation back to the "regime change" that removed the elected government of party founder Imran Khan, saying that after it, he had organised jirgas and peace mobilisation campaigns across Khyber, Hazara, Malakand, Dera Ismail Khan and Waziristan to warn the Pashtun nation that "their future was being traded and terrorism was being re imposed on them".

He said those warnings were dismissed by the PDM government as propaganda, but the Pashtun people rejected such decisions in large numbers.

According to the chief minister, districts where people resisted in time "continue to enjoy peace," while areas where the threat was not taken seriously were once again facing instability.

He said the removal of Imran Khan's government through closed-door decisions led to the return of terrorism in K-P and devastated Pakistan's economy, shutting down industries, leaving youth unemployed, and forcing young people to search for ways to leave the country.

"If any foreign visa is available, a large majority of youth are ready to leave Pakistan because employment opportunities have disappeared," he said.

The chief minister said that just as secret decisions harmed Pakistan, similar decisions imposed terrorism on K-P. He said he openly opposed the Tirah operation when it was decided behind closed doors, questioning its rationale when "22 major military operations and more than 14,000 intelligence-based operations failed to end terrorism".

He asked what positive outcome another operation could deliver.

Afridi said a grand jirga convened under the roof of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, comprising all political and religious parties, unanimously approved a 15-point agenda, with all schools of thought agreeing that "military operations are not a solution" and that terrorism could only be eliminated through dialogue, consultation and the jirga system.

He said local elders and residents must be consulted as they understood the traditions and conditions of the area better.

Despite this consensus, he said another operation was imposed on Tirah and a 24-member local committee was formed under the leadership of the Corps Commander Peshawar and Inspector General Frontier Corps.

In these jirgas, it was stated that residents must vacate Tirah because the operation could not be conducted while people were present. "People of Tirah rejected this decision, but people were forcibly displaced during severe pressure and harsh winter snowfall," he said.

He said the world was witnessing elderly people, women and children being displaced in freezing conditions, while the operation itself could not proceed due to snowfall, raising serious questions about the purpose of such decisions.

He said it was assumed that people would turn against him, the provincial government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, but when he visited Tirah, he received "unprecedented respect and love" from his people.

The chief minister strongly condemned a recent federal government press release claiming that residents of Tirah migrated voluntarily, calling it "false and extremely dangerous".

He said such statements were an attempt to create a rift between the province, institutions and the federation, and to erode public trust in state institutions.

He said the credibility of the 24-member committee, the IG Frontier Corps and the Corps Commander had been damaged, and their promises had become unreliable.

He added that the same committee members had promised displaced people, on the instructions of the IG Frontier Corps and Corps Commander, that they would return within two months, a promise he had publicly said he did not trust during his visit to Bara.

Announcing further mobilisation, the chief minister said a grand jirga of all tribes residing in Khyber would be held on Sunday at 2pm at Jamrud Football Stadium, where people would be asked whether they migrated voluntarily or were forcibly displaced.

"The world will be shown that injustice is being committed against the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," he said, adding that "these people are not experimental subjects and their blood is not cheap."

He said the provincial government had released Rs4 billion for the care of the displaced, a move he said was not acceptable to the federation.

Recalling previous operations, he said compensation of Rs400,000 for destroyed homes had still not been paid, while people of North Waziristan living in Baka Khel Camp were promised monthly stipends that had not materialised even after ten years, forcing the provincial government to bear the burden from its limited budget.

Sohail Afridi said that through closed-door decisions, oppression, bloodshed and deprivation were imposed on the Pashtun nation, which had sacrificed more than 80,000 lives, yet terrorism was being imposed again and further sacrifices were being demanded.

He said this would not continue and that he would "stand like a mountain" with his people.

Calling on the public to raise their voice, he said it was now the responsibility of the people to stand up for their rights, warning that if they did not act now, they would "continue to carry coffins".

He said he stood shoulder to shoulder with the people, could not be bought or pressured, and would expose the truth to the entire world.