K-P CM Afridi meets PM Shehbaz amid Tirah displacement row

Security, provincial dues and Feb 8 PTI protest on agenda

ISLAMABAD:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi arrived at the Prime Minister House on Monday for a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, amid rising tensions between the federal and provincial governments over security and the displacement of people from Tirah Valley.

Sources said the meeting would include an exchange of views on the security situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with Afridi expected to brief the prime minister on concerns related to terrorism, the operation in Tirah and the displacement of local residents. Political matters are also likely to be discussed.

Officials said the two sides may also take up the issue of outstanding dues owed by the Centre to the province, as well as a possible protest planned by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on February 8, marking the anniversary of the 2024 general elections, which the opposition party claims were rigged.

A day earlier, Afridi announced plans to convene a province-wide grand jirga and said he was preparing to launch a protest march towards Islamabad over the alleged forced displacement of residents from Tirah Valley and what he described as a federal “U-turn” on the issue.

Read: Afridi signals march on Islamabad over Tirah

Speaking to a jirga, he said the prime minister had invited him for talks on provincial rights, where he would present the case of the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa “with full force and determination.” Afridi said his visit aimed to “plead the case of K-P’s rights and secure our outstanding dues.”

The meeting comes amid a growing standoff over who authorised the evacuation of Tirah, after hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes amid fears of a planned military action.

While authorities initially said the evacuations were carried out with the consent of all stakeholders, including local elders, the provincial government and the military, the issue became controversial after displaced families were left in freezing conditions under the open sky, with alleged mismanagement worsening their situation.

Read More: K-P CM opposes Tirah operation, hints at Islamabad sit-in

Earlier this week, the federal government said the movement of people from Tirah was part of routine seasonal migration and denied any military operation in the valley.

Afridi rejected the claim, calling the official stance “a joke” and saying the Centre changed its position only after international media highlighted the “actual sufferings of the people of the valley.”