Army has nothing to do with Tirah valley migration: Khawaja Asif

Islamabad: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the Army has nothing to do with the migration taking place in Tirah Valley.

He, along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and the Prime Minister's Coordinator Ikhtiar Wali, briefed the media in Islamabad today regarding a controversy being spread about the situation in Tirah Valley.

Khawaja Asif said the migration is taking place under an arrangement agreed upon between a local Jirga and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. 

He highlighted that migration from valleys along the Afghan border has been a routine practice since the British era. People living in these areas traditionally move to other regions during the winter and return in the summer.

The Defence Minister further said, keeping possible migration in view, a Jirga of around 26 tribal elders held negotiations with the TTP and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to make arrangements to facilitate the depopulation. As a result, the provincial government allocated four billion rupees and issued a formal notification in this regard.

Khawaja Asif recalled that a military operation had been conducted in the area several years ago, but it has now been decided to rely solely on intelligence-based operations to avoid collateral damage.

He made it clear that the Army had abandoned the option of a large-scale operation long ago and conducting such an operation is out of the question.

The Defence Minister said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has failed to serve the people by providing education, healthcare and other basic civic facilities. He added that there is a complete absence of civilian law enforcement agencies in the area, which falls solely under the responsibility of the provincial government. He said the provincial government is trying to conceal its failures by creating unnecessary controversy.

Khawaja Muhammad Asif further said the federal government is ready to extend all possible support and cooperation to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to facilitate and assist the affected people.

Speaking on the occasion, Ikhtiar Wali said this is a voluntary migration, which is also mentioned in the notification issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government. He questioned why funds were allocated when it was a voluntary displacement. He said it appeared that the project was launched merely to mint money. He clarified that neither the federal government nor the Pakistan Army had any role in this voluntary migration. He further alleged that the PTI-led provincial government was indulging in dirty politics and was attempting to use people as cannon fodder to strengthen its protest call on the eighth of next month.