Afridi blames ‘behind closed doors’ decisions for Tirah situation, says military operation won’t solve it
Friction between the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments over the Tirah Valley continued unabated on Wednesday as the former maintained that no operation was carried out while Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stuck to his claims.
Thousands of families remain displaced from the Tirah Valley in Khyber district as the KP government oversees their relocation amid deteriorating security and heavy snowfall. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the evacuation began on January 10. So far, 11,400 families have been registered, with more than 10,000 relocated to safer areas, including Bara and Peshawar.
The move has also led to a clash of narratives between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government maintains that only small, intelligence-based operations against militants are underway and that there is no need for mass evacuation. The provincial government denies this claim.
Read: Thousands have been displaced from Tirah as fears for safety, snowfall slow evacuation
In a televised announcement today, Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry maintained that no operation was carried out in the region apart from what was part of the National Action Plan (NAP) approved by the KP government
Referring to the KP government, Talal said that “they keep taking the name of the army to hide their own performance, incompetence, incompetence and especially the corruption that took place in the Rs4 billion allocated to Tirah Valley.”
The minister claimed that the federal government or army was not mentioned in any document or notification. He said that as soon as people moved from Tirah to other areas and Rs4 billion in payments were made, “it came to light that more than half of the money had been kept by these very people for another purpose. Then, to hide it, they started to construct a baseless narrative that is completely detached from reality.”
He said that if any action was underway across the country, it was under the NAP, which was formulated under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. “The KP government is fully on board in any action under the NAP,” Talal added.
He said other provincial governments had proved that they could fight terrorism and eliminate terrorists. “In KP you couldn’t do this because to create political narratives, to get votes, to hide corruption for billions of rupees, to divert attention from your performance, you start creating a narrative based on lies – sometimes revolution, sometimes freedom, sometimes November 26, sometimes May 9.”
Talal said these slogans “neither change the life of the common man, nor bring health, education and peace to the people of KP, nor eliminate terrorism”.
Citing the Kohistan scandal, the minister said Rs14b was withdrawn from a truck driver’s account and claimed that a similar scandal involving Rs4b took place in Tirah Valley.
“There is no federal government involvement, no army and no operation is taking place,” he claimed, adding that routine operations and intelligence-based operations (IBOs) under the NAP continued with the knowledge and cooperation of the KP government.
“They are fully participating in these actions, but to appear good in the eyes of the people and to malign the army, lies are being told,” he said. “Tell me, if the federation had an operation, who would issue the announcement? If the army were to conduct an operation, have operations in Pakistan not been announced before?” asked the minister.
He stated, “whenever an operation is to be carried out, it will be openly announced. There is no new operation of any kind, nor is there any operation going on in the Tirah Valley.”
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi supported the federal government’s stand and stated that the announcement of the Tirah operation was made by the KP government and not by the federal government.
He said the federal government issued a very clear statement yesterday that “we will not carry out any operation.”
The governor added that together with the leader of the opposition, “we will conduct aerial surveillance and during this I will ask our federal agencies to also conduct surveillance.”
Referring to the people of Tirah, Kundi stated, “these are our citizens, these are our people, and God willing, we will stand with them with dignity, whether they give us a mandate or not. But we will not let KP slip out of our hands.”
He added, “we will not hand over these people to this party of chaos that only wants to spread hatred – against the federation, against other provinces.”
If the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa says that the elements who have taken up arms against the state, who believe in the government of Pakistan, then the question arises, why is it that the federal government has nothing to do with it? Rejection of those who obey the law and law and… pic.twitter.com/PqWzVLnBMX
— Pakistan Peoples Party – PPP (@PPP_Org) 28 January 2026
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, had also dismissed the KP Chief Minister’s remarks on the Tirah Valley operation, calling them “false, politically driven and misleading”.
In a post on X, he said it was irresponsible and against the country’s interests to use a serious national issue such as terrorism for political purposes.
He added that such issues required national unity, not political point-scoring.
The minister said the steps taken in Tirah Valley were not aimed at any person, political party or government.
He said the measures were necessary to restore peace, protect citizens and completely eliminate terrorism from the country.
The statement regarding the operation of the CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is true. ترحمسکردی کی سنیگ کومی بہے کو سیاسیای رانگ دینا یک کےمین د کریں کےہہ کافہ
Actions ongoing in wadi tirah by any individual,…
— Dr. Tariq Fazal Ch. (@DrTariqFazal) 27 January 2026
The Tirah situation forced many to spend freezing nights on the roads: Afridi
Meanwhile, CM Afridi, during a visit to Pak-Austria Fachhochschule Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, said heavy snowfall had left people stranded in the Tirah Valley, forcing many to spend icy nights on the roads.
The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi visited Pakistan
the chief minister @SohailAfridiISF In collaboration with the provincial government and the university, the Institute of Medicine and Allied Sciences was inaugurated. pic.twitter.com/nB3AwukWGv— Chief Minister KP (@KPChiefMinister) 28 January 2026
He questioned why the situation had worsened and blamed what he described as “behind closed doors” decisions to launch a military operation. He said a military operation was not a solution, adding that it was not only the PTI that said so, but political and religious parties across KP were also urging that a military operation would not solve the problem.
Calling for what he described as a “permanent and consolidated solution”, Afridi said all stakeholders must sit together and develop a comprehensive strategy.
He criticized decision-making by a small group, claiming that some people “sitting behind closed doors” believed they alone were smart enough to decide, and said bad advice had left Pakistan “stuck in a quagmire”.
The chief minister added that peace was essential to improve education and attract investment, but claimed there was a “mindset” that prevented stability in the province. “With your help I will defeat this mindset,” he said.
