Bara Civil Society Calls Federal Ministers’ ‘Seasonal Migration’ Claim Derogatory

KHYBER: As the government denied any military operation plans or operations underway in the Tirah Valley, civil society in Bara criticized federal ministers for derogatory and humiliating remarks about displaced families. Mufti Kafeel, the Bara Tehsil Chairman, argued that no such event had occurred since 2015 when residents were allowed to return home after a military operation.

Some questioned why registration centers were established if the Tirah residents were supposedly going on a “joy ride,” as ministers seemed to claim. Former MNA Hameedullah Jan Afridi said the defense minister’s statement was tantamount to rubbing salt in the wounds of the people of Tirah and Bara.

Talal Chaudhry accused PTI of concocting a narrative to “hide their corruption.” He stated that any military action would only be launched after informing everyone. Speaking to Dawn, he insisted, “We reject this baseless and misleading statement and want to clarify that the residents of Tirah have not left their homes voluntarily nor is this a seasonal migration.”

He claimed these people were forced from their homes under inhospitable conditions in the name of eradicating terrorism. He reminded federal ministers that displacement from Tirah started after an agreement was reached with government officials and local elders, arranging all modalities including transport fares and compensation for damages prior to a planned military operation.

Former parliamentarian Shafeeq Afridi said the statement twisted historical facts and was a mockery of the sufferings of thousands of children, women, and elderly residents of Tirah who were made to wait in lines for registration. He said that referring to a book written by an English author in 1880 was unacceptable as they lived in different Pakistan now.

Bara Siyasi Ittehad President Hashim Khan Afridi held both federal and provincial governments responsible for the miseries of displaced families, insisting that the plan for conducting military operations and prior evacuation had been agreed upon with mutual consent from both governments.

Minister Talal Chaudhry continued to point fingers at KP government in Peshawar, claiming they were concocting a false narrative to “hide their corruption” as Rs4 billion was approved for Tirah residents’ temporary relocation. He said: “As soon as people were relocated and paid Rs4 billion by the KP govt, due to which there was noise, it was found out that their own people had retained more than half of the money for some other purpose. A baseless narrative was created after this to hide it.”

Chaudhry added, “Whenever an operation is planned, we will issue a notification and conduct it after informing everyone. We will take everyone onboard.” However, he insisted, “If any action or operation is taking place in the entire country from Quetta to Gilgit, and Gilgit to Karachi, it is under the National Action Plan (NAP).” Each action, IB operation, or other action was carried out with full participation by KP government.

PML-N leader remarked that the “issue is that [the provincial government] wants to do it but they are scared.”