Tirah Operation and Forced Displacement Are Closed-Door Decisions, Not Counter-Terrorism: CM Sohail Afridi

**Peshawar:** Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has strongly criticized the ongoing operation in Tirah and the forced displacement of local residents, calling it a “closed-door decision” aimed at achieving political objectives rather than eliminating terrorism.

In a statement posted on X, the chief minister said he has repeatedly made it clear that the operation in Tirah and the compulsory evacuation of people were decided behind closed doors. “Tirah is my home. These are my people. I belong to them and they belong to me,” he said, adding that what is happening there is an attempt to turn his people against him because of his firm stance on the issue.

Sohail Afridi assured that his government would, InshaAllah, make no compromises in resolving the problems faced by the people. “This is a promise I have made to my nation, and I will prove it,” he said.

He alleged that terrorism has been forcibly imposed on the region and that people are being compelled to leave their homes under a military operation initiated through closed-door decisions. He further claimed that, alongside these hardships, security forces are allegedly interfering in administrative affairs, deliberately slowing down processes to create frustration among the people.

The chief minister said that the registration of displaced persons is being carried out by NADRA, a federal institution, and that people are being deliberately harassed during the process. He alleged that security personnel are wasting time by conducting repeated checks and eye-scanner verifications, turning hours-long procedures into days-long ordeals to exhaust the affected population.

He also claimed that attempts were being made to defame him by planting “their own people” among the affected communities to incite unrest. According to Afridi, when local MPA Abdul Ghani Afridi and his elder brother visited the area, efforts were made to humiliate them through agents. He further alleged that roads were blocked on their return, forcing route changes that endangered their lives, while vehicles were deliberately parked on roads to create congestion and provoke public anger against elected representatives.

Sohail Afridi emphasized that the war against terrorism cannot be won through decisions taken behind closed doors. “Intentions must be sincere, and trust must be restored,” he said, adding that lasting and sustainable peace is impossible without taking all stakeholders on board. He warned that decisions imposed through force often hide other motives.

The chief minister said that only by implementing the proposals presented by all political and religious parties and stakeholders in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly’s national jirga could lasting peace be achieved. He concluded by stating that efforts to eliminate Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi would remain an unfulfilled dream, asserting that the public’s attachment to him has spread across generations and will not fade.

میں بار بار کہہ چکا ہوں کہ اس وقت تیراہ کا آپریشن اور لوگوں کا زبردستی انخلأ بند کمروں کا فیصلہ ہے جس کا مقصد دہشتگردی ختم کرنا نہیں سیاسی عزائم پورے کرنا ہے۔

تیراہ میرا گھر ہے۔ وہ لوگ میرے ہیں۔ میں اُن سے ہوں اور وہ مجھ سے ہیں۔ وہاں پر آج جو کچھ کروایا جا رہا ہے وہ صرف مجھے… pic.twitter.com/DAorasmdRo

— Sohail Afridi (@SohailAfridiISF) January 15, 2026