Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Special Assistant for Information, Shafi Jan, has rejected the federal government’s statement regarding the displacement of the local population from Tirah Valley, calling it baseless, fabricated, and an attempt to mislead the public.

Shafi Jan said the federal government is unsuccessfully trying to shift the entire blame for the operation in Tirah Valley and the resulting displacement of people onto the provincial government, whereas the reality is that the local population was forced to migrate because of the operation.

He stated that speeches made in the National Assembly by Federal Ministers Khawaja Asif and Talal Chaudhry are on record, in which they clearly acknowledged the operation. Despite this, facts are now being denied.

The Special Assistant for Information further said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi has clarified his stance on the operation in Tirah Valley multiple times. He added that during the provincial assembly’s peace jirga, all political parties unanimously opposed the operation.

Shafi Jan said the federal government should have taken the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, political parties, and other relevant stakeholders into confidence before taking any action, but instead, decisions were made behind closed doors.

Also Read: Registration of Tirah IDPs resumes in Bara as new centres open

He termed the federal government’s statement regarding the release of four billion rupees in funds by the provincial government for the affected people as “ridiculous,” saying the provincial government took timely steps to provide immediate relief to those who evacuated, while the federal government is showing indifference.

Shafi Jan questioned whether people who were forced to displace should be left helpless and without support?

He said the federal government is imposing decisions on the province on one hand, and on the other, leaving the affected people alone in difficult times, which is regrettable.

Meanwhile, the federal government says that no orders have been issued by the government or the army to evacuate Tirah Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a statement issued Sunday from the X (formerly Twitter) account of the Federal Ministry of Information, it was said that the government has taken notice of misleading reports claiming that Tirah Valley was being evacuated on the orders of the army.