Governor Faisal Karim Kundi (L to R), Chief Minister Sohail Afridi (C) and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry. Photo: Files
HARIPUR/ISLAMABAD:
Friction between the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments over the situation in the Tirah Valley continued unabated on Wednesday, with the former asserting that no operations were being carried out while Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stood by his claims.
Thousands of families remain displaced from Tirah Valley in Khyber district as the KP government oversees their resettlement amid increasing 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, and more than 10,000 have been relocated to safer areas, including Bara and Peshawar.
The move also led to a conflict of discourse between the federal and provincial governments. The federal government maintains that only small-scale intelligence operations against militants are underway and that no mass evacuations are necessary. The provincial government rejects this assertion.
In a televised message, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry asserted that no operations were being carried out in the region other than those which were part of the National Action Plan (NAP) approved by the KP government.
Referring to the KP government, Talal said “they continue to take the name of the army to hide their own performance, incompetence, incapacity and above all the corruption that took place in the 4 billion rupees allocated to Tirah Valley.”
The minister said the federal government or the army were not mentioned in any document or notification. He said that as soon as people moved from Tirah to other areas and payments of 4 billion rupees were made, “it appeared that more than half of the money had been kept by these same people for other purposes. After that, in order to cover it up, they started constructing a narrative that is baseless and completely detached from reality.”
He said if any action was being taken across the country, it was under the NAP, which was formulated under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. “The KP government is fully participating in every action taken under the NAP,” Talal added.
He said other provincial governments had proven that they could fight terrorism and eliminate terrorists. “In KP, you cannot do this because to create political narratives, to get votes, to hide corruption worth billions of rupees, to distract 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 “do not change the life of the common man, nor do they bring health, education and peace to the people of KP, nor is terrorism eliminated.”
The minister cited the Kohistan scandal, saying that Rs 14 billion was withdrawn from a truck driver’s account, and alleging that a similar scandal involving Rs 4 billion had occurred in the Tirah Valley.
“There is no involvement of the federal government, no army and no operations are taking place,” he asserted, adding that routine actions and intelligence-based operations (IBO) under the NAP were continuing with the knowledge and cooperation of the KP government.
“They fully participate in these actions, but to appear good in the eyes of the people and to slander the army, lies are told,” he said. “Tell me, if the federation carried out an operation, who would send the notification? If the army was to carry out an operation, haven’t operations in Pakistan been announced before?” » questioned the minister.
He said: “Whenever an operation is to be carried out, it will be announced openly. There are no new operations of any kind, and no operations are currently underway in the Tirah Valley.”
KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi supported the federal government’s position, saying the announcement of Operation Tirah was made by the KP government and not the federal government.
He said the Federal Government had issued a very clear statement yesterday that “we are not going to carry out any operations”.
The governor added that together with the opposition leader, “we will carry out aerial surveillance and, on this occasion, I will ask our federal agencies to also carry out surveillance.”
Referring to the people of Tirah, Kundi said: “They are our citizens, they are our people, and God willing, we 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 deliver these people to this party of chaos which only wants to sow hatred against the federation, against the other provinces.”
Kundi also visited Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani at his residence here and discussed the overall situation in the province, including law and order, good governance and security challenges.
During the meeting, the governor briefed the Acting President on the temporary relocation of Tirah Valley, informing him of the relief and rehabilitation measures taken for the affected families. He said the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) merged districts branch was fully engaged in providing assistance to the Tirah-affected people.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry had also dismissed the KP chief minister’s remarks on the Tirah Valley operation, calling them “false, politically motivated and misleading”.
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He added that such issues required national unity and not a political goal.
The minister said the measures taken in the Tirah Valley were not aimed at any person, political party or government.
He said these measures were necessary to restore peace, protect citizens and completely eliminate terrorism from the country.
KP CM
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Afridi, during a visit to the Pak-Austria Institute of Applied Science and Technology Fachhochschule, said heavy snowfall had left people stranded in the Tirah Valley, forcing many of them to spend freezing nights on the roads.
He questioned why the situation had escalated, blaming 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 saying so, but the political and religious parties in KP were also insisting that a military operation would not solve the problem.
Afridi called for what he described as a “permanent and consolidated solution”, saying all stakeholders must sit down together and develop a comprehensive strategy.
He criticized decision-making by a small group, alleging that some people “sitting behind closed doors” thought they were the only ones wise 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 overcome this mindset,” he said.
A special assistant to the chief minister on information slammed federal ministers Attaullah Tarar and Talal Chaudhry after their press conference, accusing them of spreading “misinformation” and waging what he called a coordinated campaign against the provincial leader.
Shafi said the two ministers were a “product of Form 47” and should not lecture others on public policy – a phrase commonly used to mock disputed election results. He said Shehbaz Sharif’s “nau ratans” narrative had “completely failed”.
Shafi raised the issue of Tirah Valley, saying that Talal Chaudhry’s press conferences and speeches in the National Assembly were recorded. “How can they now claim that politics is being conducted in Tirah?” he said.
