JUST:
The large-scale displacement from Tirah Valley in Khyber district is nearing its final stages, with authorities reporting that approximately 95 percent of the evacuation process has been completed.
According to local administration officials, more than 26,000 affected households have now been registered, marking a significant milestone in what has become a major humanitarian and administrative operation in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Assistant Commissioner Bara Talha Rafiq told The Express Pakinomist that a total of 26,962 families have been registered across multiple points established in Bara. These include Painda China with 11,472 families, Malakdin Khel’s Nawi with 5,079, Qambarabad with 2,412, Al-Haj Market with 4,120 and Takia Center Qambar Khel with 3,879. The process involves biometric verification by NADRA and SIM issuance through private companies to ensure accuracy and prevent fraud.
Financial assistance for transportation has already been provided to registered families and additional payments are expected to begin soon. A verification committee is actively reviewing registrations to identify and exclude any non-genuine claimants, the non-permanent residents of the Tirah Valley, who may have registered incorrectly. Officials emphasize that the priority remains to deliver timely and fair assistance to genuine victims with no tolerance for irregularities.
The evacuation, which was intensified in recent weeks due to security concerns in the rugged Tirah Valley, has attracted widespread attention. A national jirga convened under former federal minister Hamidullah Jan Afridi brought together political and social figures to resolve the crisis. The meeting endorsed the agreements reached with a 24-member Tirah Committee, urging both the provincial and federal governments to quickly address registration, rehabilitation and related issues. Participants warned that if commitments, including a promised return date, were not met, the Afridi tribes would organize their own return.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the displacement of the Aka Khel tribe from areas including Sere Kandao to Shadalay, with over 4,000 people expected to move this week. Registration points for this phase are being finalised, according to Bara Tehsil Chairman Mufti Kafil Afridi.
Criticism has increased from the political side and affected local communities. Awami National Party (ANP) district president Abdul Razzaq Afridi accused the provincial government of inefficiency, claiming that a committee in Khyber House cancels nearly 50 percent of registrations during verification, a move he described as unfair. He highlighted that the current system relies heavily on polio campaign registrations, potentially excluding legally resident families with no children or incomplete data, thus depriving them of assistance. Tirah Victims Movement has emerged as a unified platform where representatives from political parties, social persons, traders, doctors and others have established a protest camp outside Bara Press Club. Activists complain of delays due to insufficient staffing at registration points and called for increased manpower and counters to speed up the process.
