‘Our people have been forced to take Zakat’: Wadi Tirah victims’ sit-in

Valley Terahthe victims of Khyber district on the Pakistan-Afghan highway for the past 27 days sit in has given, in which they of their homes return And they are demanding the restoration of the area.

Malik Naseer, the tribal leader who led the sit-in, said, ‘It has been fifteen years since we have been displaced from our homes and area and there is still no hope of returning. We don’t even know what will happen to the affected houses.’

The people of Wadi Tirah were forced into temporary displacement in 2008 and 2009 when military operations against militants were launched there.

A phased return of the IDPs was announced a few years ago and about 60 percent of the families have returned but the remaining families are still settled in other areas of Khyber. Regarding the victims who returned, Malik Naseer said that most of them are still living in tents because their houses were destroyed and there was no help from the government to rebuild their houses.

Malik Naseer added, ‘People of our Kokikhel tribe are living in rented houses in other areas of Khyber or someone has given them one or two rooms and they are living there. Some people have become so forced that they are now taking charity and zakat.’

He said that the people of Tirah are the most affected after Palestine because they were driven from their homes and their homes were destroyed, but now the return is being delayed.

Malik Naseer told Independent Urdu that he had staged a dharna last year as well and was announced to withdraw through a formal notification, but it has not been implemented yet. “Our people had crops there, raised sheep and goats and lived in good conditions, but militancy and displacement forced us into starvation,” he said.

Victims of Tirah Valley on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Central Highway in Jamrud on August 28, 2024.

The protestors have blocked the Pak-Afghan highway for all traffic for the past seven days, affecting the movement of goods vehicles at the Torkham border. Malik Naseer clarified that their demands are to let them go back to their homes and to announce a regular aid package for the victims so that these people can restore their houses.

Regarding the demands of the participants of the sit-in of the Tirah Valley victims, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif told Independent Urdu that ‘most of the Tirah victims have been rehabilitated while steps are being taken for the rest.

Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif says that ‘about 60 percent of the victims have been rehabilitated and have returned, while the rest will return soon.’

On the other hand, a meeting was held with the organizers of the sit-in under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Sanaullah Khan on behalf of the administration of Khyber district regarding the sit-in and the demands of the participants.

An official of the district administration told Independent Urdu that the district administration has conveyed the demands to the top government and military leadership and the chief minister has promised to raise the issue in the apex committee.

He said that ‘the deadlock is maintained because the dharna participants want an immediate return whereas it seems that an immediate return is not possible because some steps need to be taken beforehand and only then the return can be possible.’

He said that ‘aid packages have also been distributed among the victims who returned earlier, but the decision of the remaining families to return will be decided by the higher authorities.’

The Tirah Valley has been affected by militancy for the past 15 years, with military operations under different names at different times. Last week, Pakistan Army’s public relations agency ISPR said 25 militants were killed in a week-long intelligence-based operation, including militants from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Islam, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. Four soldiers also lost their lives in this operation.

Background of militancy in Tirah Valley

Wadi Tirah is a valley covering about 100 km, part of which is included in Orakzai district and is known as a tourist destination. However, after the interim government of the Afghan Taliban came to Afghanistan, extremism has resurfaced in Khyber and Tirah Valley like other adjoining districts and the reason for this is the Tirah Valley’s border with Afghanistan.

According to the Pakistani authorities, militants infiltrate into Pakistan by sitting in Afghanistan and hide back in Afghanistan after taking action here. Pakistan has also recorded protests to the Afghan Taliban several times in this regard, however, it is said by the Afghan Taliban that the Pakistani Taliban are not present in Afghanistan.

Victims of Tirah Valley on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Central Highway in Jamrud on August 28, 2024.

Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Independent Urdu in an interview a few days ago, “This (TTP) is Pakistan’s internal matter and if Pakistan wants, we can play the role of mediator again.”

However, the United Nations has described the presence of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan as a threat to Pakistan in its various reports, while a report has also stated that the Afghan Taliban provides support to the Pakistani Taliban.

In the past, a militant group called Lashkar-e-Islam was active in Khyber district and particularly in the Tirah Valley, led by Mangal Bagh, who was killed in a mine blast in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Rafatullah Orkazai, who has been covering extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past 20 years and has been associated with the BBC for nearly 15 years, told Independent Urdu that the Tirah Valley is rich in minerals and forests and is prone to extremism. Very impressed. He said, ‘These areas have been backward in the past and since the British era, this area was a tough place for the British forces.’

He further said that the presence of TTP and Lashkar-e-Islam has been there in the past and is still a problem here. The Afghan Taliban had also at one time alleged that so-called Daesh fighters were present in the area, but according to Rafatullah, there appears to be no truth in this. Pakistani authorities had recently announced the clearing of the area.

The geographical position of this area is such that militants operate here and move to the nearby district of Orakzai or Afghanistan, creating difficulties for law enforcement agencies.