July 27, 2026
By Islam Gul Afridi
BARA
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has been urged to honour its promise and ensure prompt financial assistance to the families of those killed during the unrest and displacement in Tirah — 10 million rupees for the families of the deceased and 2.5 million rupees for the injured.
Seventy-year-old Awwal Badshah attended a ceremony held on Monday, in Bara which was partly meant to ease the grief of losing his son and two young grandsons. On this occasion, he also voiced strong reservations over the government’s delay in disbursing financial assistance to affected families.
He recounted that on 7 January 2026, at around 4pm, during the family’s second displacement from the area, he loaded all his household belongings onto a small truck and set out on the journey along with his two sons, Muhammad Shah and Anas Khan, and two grandsons — 15-year-old Qari Inayatullah and 14-year-old Israfil. According to him, due to heavy snowfall, heavy traffic congestion, and an uncertain situation along the way, the vehicle met with an accident at ten at night, in which Muhammad Shah was killed along with both his sons, while Anas Khan was seriously injured.
“Muhammad Shah has left behind six children and a widow, who are now living in extremely dire circumstances,” said Badshah. “The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had announced a relief package of 10 million rupees for the deceased and 2.5million rupees for the injured. That financial assistance should be provided to the families now.”
The event was organized by the Tehreek-Mustasireen Tirah in Bara town in memory of the martyrs, and was attended by relatives of those injured and disabled during the wave of unrest. According to the group, more than 170 people have been killed and over 200 injured amid the tense situation and displacement in the Tirah Valley between 2023 and January 2026.
The group’s spokesperson, Sohbat Khan Afridi, also said the CM of KP should immediately provide financial assistance to the families of all those killed and to the injured, in accordance with the announced package. He said that although a package offered had been allocated, district authorities were instead giving only ten lakh rupees to the families of the deceased and thirty to fifty thousand rupees to the injured — which, he said, was in no way acceptable.
The return of families displaced from Tirah had initially been scheduled for April 10; however, following a recent meeting between a 24-member committee of local elders, security forces, and district authorities, the return date has now been set for October 10. Despite this, the process of registering displaced families and disbursing financial assistance has dragged on considerably and remains incomplete.
According to district authorities, 34,000 families were registered in the first phase, while, following verification by local elders on the instructions of security forces and district authorities, documents for a further 12,000 families have been received by district authorities in the second phase. Officials said the verification process for 19,000 families in the first phase has been completed, and they have been paid 240,000 rupees for vehicle transport costs, along with 70,000 rupees in monthly assistance for two months. Officials said a list of 4,000 families has been issued for the second phase, whose verification process is underway at Lahaj Market near Bara, and that verification of nearly 3,000 families has been completed so far.
Victims and local elders have expressed concern that the promises made by the government and administration at the time of the evacuation have still not been fulfilled. Hashim Khan Afridi, president of the Bara Siasi Ittehad, who attended the ceremony, said that under the displacement agreement, the return phase was merely the first point, while not a single one of the remaining thirty-four points has been implemented.
It may be noted that for several days now, movement of the general public at checkpoints in the plain areas of Bara tehsil has been suspended due to security concerns. Yesterday, local youths protested against the closure of the main highway in front of a security checkpoint at Arjali Nadi in the Shalobar Qambar Khel area, but the government has so far offered no response on the matter.