KP CM warns against ‘closed door decisions’, rejects ‘forced displacement’ in winter
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addresses a video message on January 27, 2026. SCREENGRAB
PESHAWAR:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has strongly opposed the ongoing operation and forced displacement in the Tirah Valley, warning that decisions made “behind closed doors” had once again plunged the region into suffering and instability.
He condemned the uprooting of elderly people, women and children in freezing winter conditions.
In a detailed video message on Tuesday, the chief minister said that “extremely harsh conditions are again being imposed on Tirah and the people are suffering the dire consequences of decisions taken behind closed doors”.
He traced the current situation back to the “regime change” that ousted the elected government of party founder Imran Khan, and said that after it he had organized jirga and peace mobilization 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 these 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 faced instability again.
He said the removal of Imran Khan’s government through closed door decisions led to the return of terrorism in KP and destroyed Pakistan’s economy, closed down industries, left youth unemployed and forced young people to search for ways to leave the country.
“If a foreign visa is available, a large majority of the youth are ready to leave Pakistan because employment opportunities have disappeared,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that just as secret decisions hurt Pakistan, similar decisions imposed terrorism on KP. He said he openly opposed the Tirah operation when it was decided behind closed doors and questioned its rationale as “22 major military operations and more than 14,000 intelligence-based operations failed to end terrorism”.
He asked what positive result another operation could give.
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 agreeing that “military operations are not a solution” and that terrorism can only be eliminated through dialogue, consultation and the jirga system.
He said local elders and residents must be consulted as they better understand the traditions and conditions of the area.
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 of Frontier Corps.
In these jirgas it was stated that the residents had to leave Tirah because the operation could not be carried out while people were present. “People in Tirah rejected this decision, but people were forcibly displaced under heavy pressure and heavy winter snowfall,” he said.
He said the world witnessed elderly people, women and children being displaced in freezing conditions while the operation itself could not continue 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 the 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 press release by the federal government claiming that Tirah residents migrated voluntarily, calling it “false and extremely dangerous”.
He said such statements were an attempt to create a rift between the province, the institutions and the federation and to erode public confidence 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 persons, on the instructions of the IG Frontier Corps and the Corps Commander, that they would return within two months, a promise he had publicly said he did not trust during his visit to Bara.
The chief minister announced further mobilization and said that a grand jirga of all tribes residing in Khyber would be held on Sunday at 14 at the 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 done to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said, adding that “these people are not test 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 Rs 400,000 for destroyed homes had still not been paid, while people from North Waziristan living in Baka Khel Camp were promised monthly stipends that had not materialized even after ten years, forcing the provincial government to bear the burden from its limited budget.
Sohail Afridi said that through closed door decisions, repression, bloodshed and deprivation were imposed on the Pashtun nation which had sacrificed more than 80,000 lives, yet terrorism was imposed again and more victims were claimed.
He said this would not continue and that he would “stand like a mountain” with his people.
He urged the public to raise their voices, saying it was now the people’s responsibility 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 reveal the truth to the whole world.
