Pakistan: Fear of Munir’s army triggers mass exodus in northwest, women and children suffer

Fears of operation trigger Tirah exodus

More than 70,000 people, most of them women and children, have fled a remote northwestern region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan amid uncertainty over a possible military operation against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and officials said on Tuesday.

The displacement has centred on Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where families have been leaving for weeks following fears of an army crackdown.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif rejected claims of an ongoing or imminent military operation. Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, he said no action was under way or planned in Tirah, attributing the movement instead to severe weather conditions.

His remarks came weeks after residents had already begun fleeing the area amid growing anxiety over a possible operation.

The exodus gathered pace after mosque loudspeakers urged residents to leave Tirah by January 23 to avoid potential fighting. Last August, Pakistan launched a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban in Bajaur district, also in the northwest, which displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Shafi Jan, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, said on X that the federal government was responsible for the plight of the displaced. He accused authorities in Islamabad of retreating from their earlier position regarding a military operation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, whose party is led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, has criticised the military and said his government would not permit a full-scale operation in Tirah.

The military, however, has said it will continue intelligence-based operations against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Although a separate group, the TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Authorities say many TTP leaders and fighters have taken refuge in Afghanistan and that hundreds have crossed into Tirah, often using residents as human shields during raids on militant hideouts.

Residents caught between militants and security forces have continued to arrive in Bara, a nearby town.

Local authorities have so far registered around 10,000 families — roughly 70,000 people — from Tirah, which has a population of about 150,000, said Talha Rafiq Alam, a local government administrator overseeing relief efforts. He said the registration deadline, initially set for January 23, had been extended to February 5.

He added that displaced residents would be able to return once the law-and-order situation improves.

Among those who fled was 35-year-old Zar Badshah, who said he left with his wife and four children after being ordered to evacuate. He said mortar shells had exploded in villages in recent weeks, killing a woman and injuring four children in his village. “Community elders told us to leave. They instructed us to evacuate to safer places,” he said.

At a government school in Bara, hundreds of displaced people queued outside registration centres to enrol for government assistance, with many complaining about delays.

Narendra Singh, 27, said members of the minority Sikh community had also fled Tirah after worsening food shortages, compounded by heavy snowfall and security fears.

“There was a severe shortage of food items in Tirah, and that forced us to leave,” he said.

Tirah drew national attention in September after an explosion at a compound allegedly used to store bomb-making materials killed at least 24 people. Authorities said most of those killed were militants linked to the TTP, though local leaders disputed the claim, saying civilians, including women and children, were also among the dead.

(With inputs from AP)