Military Operation Forces Mass Displacement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Pakistani army has ordered residents of the Tirah region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to leave their homes before January 25 due to ongoing military operations.

The move is expected to displace nearly 100,000 people from the area.

The decision has drawn strong criticism from Mahmood Khan Achakzai, a Pakistani opposition leader, who said terrorism is not limited to guns and explosions, and that forcing people to leave their homes is also a form of terrorism.

Achakzai criticized the Pakistani government’s approach, saying that creating fear itself represents the worst form of terrorism.

Mahmood Khan Achakzai said: “Do not do this. How long will this war-like situation continue? Is Afghanistan a terrorist? These are honorable people, and this is their own home. What could be a greater form of terrorism than telling people to leave their homes? Why should they leave?”

Meanwhile, Sohail Afridi, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the ongoing operations are being carried out through force and coercion.

He said: “The operation underway today is being carried out through force and intimidation. These are surveillance cameras being imposed on us. I have told them this before and I say it again: despite the military operations carried out so far, we have yet to see security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

Previously, several politicians and religious scholars in Pakistan had also criticized the country’s security policies.