BARA, Pakistan — Tens of thousands of residents from Pakistan’s Tirah Valley, a mountainous pocket of Khyber district near the Afghan border, have fled in recent weeks amid fears of a Pakistan military operation, local officials and residents said. They say mosque loudspeakers urged families to evacuate to avoid potential crossfire as security forces pursued militants believed to be operating in the area, Feb. 1, 2026.
Families arriving in nearby towns described a dayslong ordeal through snowblocked roads and food shortages, with many carrying only blankets and the essentials. “The announcements were made in the mosque that everyone should leave, so everyone was leaving. We left too,” said Gul Afridi, a shopkeeper, in a Reuters account.
At registration sites, officials have been collecting biometric details and issuing tokens for assistance; local administrators told the Associated Press that about 10,000 families — roughly 70,000 people — have been registered so far, and the deadline has been extended to Feb. 5.
Pakistan military operation denied, but targeted raids continue
Islamabad has publicly rejected claims of a Pakistan military operation in Tirah. Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said no Pakistan military operation was planned or under way and suggested the movement reflected routine winter migration. A Pakistani military source, however, told Reuters the relocation followed months of consultations with tribal elders and district officials, and that civilians were encouraged to leave temporarily to reduce risk as intelligence-based raids continued in the rugged terrain.
The Tirah Valley has long been a sensitive security zone and a stronghold for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which has stepped up attacks in Pakistan’s northwest in recent years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said his provincial government was not consulted on the relocation, deepening a public dispute over whether the Pakistan military operation is real, rumored, or being carried out in smaller, quieter phases.
A jirga in Bara attended by political leaders and tribal elders demanded immediate relief and a clear rehabilitation plan for displaced families, while calling for transparency in the relief funds, according to The Express Tribune. Provincial disaster officials cited by the paper said the evacuation began Jan. 10 and that more than 10,000 families have been relocated so far.
Frustrations have also spilled into the streets. Dawn reported that some displaced residents protested in Bara over delays in transport-fare payments and slow cash distribution at a registration center.
Why Tirah’s flight feels familiar
The current displacement echoes earlier cycles of violence and uprooting. In 2013, fighting in Tirah displaced around 40,000 people, aid officials said at the time, as described by The New Humanitarian. A year later, an Al Jazeera photo essay documented widespread destruction and noted official figures saying more than 85,000 were displaced during earlier clashes and operations. In 2015, Dawn reported that the military formally wrapped up a major phase of its Khyber campaign after months of fighting in Tirah.
For families camped in schools and makeshift shelters, the debate over whether a Pakistan military operation is under way is less urgent than a basic question: how long they will be away, and what will be left to return to.
