Fall of Tirah valley

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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For the past many weeks clashes have been taking place between TTP/Lashkar e Islam and Ansar Ul Islam. TTP has gained control of the valley (located in Khyber agency), about 100000 people have been uprooted but no discussion going on in the media. The government and military are a silent spectator, have we conceded defeat?

Tirah Valley: Tribesmen finally bury the dead – The Express Tribune

Tirah Valley: Tribesmen finally bury the dead

Hundreds of people moved away from Tirah Valley when TTP captured it from AI militants after days of intense clashes.

BARA:
Khujal Khel tribesmen on Saturday buried the 13 men killed in clashes in Tirah Valley among banned militant outfits Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ansarul Islam (AI) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) till the valley’s capture by TTP on March 19.

According to reports from the valley, hundreds of fighters from both TTP and AI were killed in the fight to gain control of Tirah, following which TTP banned residents from burying a single body until the fight was over.

The tribesmen were finally permitted to gather the dead and bury them on Saturday. However, most of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition because they had been lying in the open since the clashes ended on March 19.

Two of the deceased were identified as Sher Muhammad, a resident of Qamber Khel, and Ziarat Khan. They could not be shifted to their hometowns and were buried in Tirah.

It was also learnt that TTP has allowed Khujal Khel tribesmen to go to the mountainous check posts and bring down the bodies of dead AI militants. The tribesmen have also been told to use the possessions and vehicles of locals who had fled from the area earlier.

Hundreds of people moved away from Tirah Valley when TTP captured it from AI militants after days of intense clashes.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2013.

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The people are living without proper shelter and food. Have we forsaken them? Are they lesser human beings?

UNHCR “unilaterally postpones” facilitation to Tirah IDPs – The Express

PESHAWAR: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has “unilaterally postponed” facilitating the mass evacuation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) coming from the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency due to the intense fighting of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Ansarul Islam, an official statement from the Fata Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) said on Friday.

Director FATA Disaster Management Authority Arshad Khan told media persons that the UNHCR had promised to provide assistance to the IDPs of Tirah on March 18. But three days later they changed their decision.

“Registration is the most important part in the whole process because without it humanitarian aid for the displaced cannot be provided.”

Khan added that the FDMA has been pleading their case with the UNHCR but there was no official communication so far which provided them with a reason for UNHCR’s “backing off from their commitment.”

The FDMA official said that as many as 4,290 families had fled the area due to clashes between the two militant groups and that the organisation was helping them in its limited resources.

The spokesperson for the UNHCR told The Express Tribune that they had suspended their operations in the Jalozai IDP camp only because of the situation.

On Thursday, at least 17 people, including women and children, were killed when a car bomb tore through the Jalozai refugee camp in Nowshera district as scores of people queued for rations. More than 28 others were also wounded in the blast.

However, the spokesperson said they would analyse and comment on the FDMA statement later.

After two months of clashes between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ansarul Islam (AI), Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and the pro-government Kamar Khel militia, Tirah Valley finally fell into the hands of TTP and LI on March 19, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

Geographically, the TTP now controls over 90% of the valley, including key routes leading towards the Orakzai and Kurram agencies – routes which were earlier cleared using surgical operations.

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The poor guys fled the area after the fall of the valley and took refuge in jalozai where they were targeted by their brutal opponents.

Blast at Jalozai refugee camp kills 12 | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

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Was it something like AI is barelvi while TTP and LI are of course deobandi (or wahabbi) since deobandi'ism is a wahabinized version of hanafi islam.

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^ yes AI is barelvi, this is something strange for me to hear about a barelvi militant organisation.

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Sad to hear that. We are losing that part of the country slowly but surely.

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HRCP expresses concern over Tirah conflict, displaced | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Monday expressed deep concern at the prevailing situation in the Tirah valley of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber tribal agency, said a press release by the rights watchdog.

The remote valley has been a flashpoint for violence between rival militant groups, and recent clashes between the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and the rival Ansaarul Islam have led to hundreds fleeing the troubled mountainous area.

“It is regrettable that the government has been unable to establish its writ in the valley, where the violence perpetrated by extremists has been continuing for several months,” the HRCP said in a statement.

According to recent reports, the TTP has taken control of a major portion of Tirah valley, overrunning the last bastion of their rival group on March 19.

“It seems that after the recent escalation of violence, control over a sizeable territory has been lost to the militants,” said the human rights watchdog, urging the government to take the necessary and proper measures required to “immediately reestablish control in the valley”.

Last week, a car bomb tore through a camp in Jalozai set up for internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of them displaced due to the fighting in Tirah.

The blast killed 17 people, among them three women, and injured 28 others.

In its press release, the HRCP also condemned the bomb attack, extending its sympathy and condolences to those who had suffered due to the blast.

Furthermore, the commission urged the government to make adequate provisions to ensure the well-being and speedy rehabilitation of those who have been internally displaced due to this conflict.

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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - 50,000 families have fled Tirrah Valley

  • TTP, Lashkar-e-Islam fighters in control of area after pushing out rival AI

By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi

LANDIKOTAL: More than fifty thousand families have migrated from the Tirrah Valley, it has been learnt.

The Tirrah Valley has now become an abode of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) after they have jointly pushed out the armed fighters affiliated with Ansarul Islam (AI), which is led by Mehboobul Haq. Bagh area in Tirrah Valley and most parts of Qamber Khel and Malik Deen Khel have come under the occupation and dominance of the fighters belonging to the TTP, whereas Zakha Khel tribe in Tirrah as a whole has been captured by the LI fighters led by Mangal Bagh.

AI’s spokesman Izatullah has told media the group was still intact and its fighters had dispersed under a strategy, and it will retaliate and capture their stronghold in Tirrah Maidan. However, the Mehboobul Haq-led AI has so far failed to repulse the fighters of LI and TTP from Tirrah Maidan. As per reports loyal AI fighters have been confined to a post on the mountaintop towards Aurakzai Agency.

An official said that as per his assessment more than fifty thousand families have been displaced from the Tirrah Valley. The displaced families have been trying to come across Meshti area of Aurakzai Agency and Sada of Kurram Agency via Kohat Road to Peshawar. A local journalist from Kurram divulged that some half a dozen tribal women delivered babies while going to Peshawar via Aurakzai and Kurram agencies. The displaced persons, including women and children, suffered a lot during the journey on feet while getting out of the Tirrah Valley to avoid being killed by the warring factions, he added.

Different political parties have urged the government to come forth and provide transport facilities and food packages to the IDPs to mitigate their sufferings and hardships. So far only the Al-Khidmat Foundation has set up relief and medical camps at Meshti and Sada to facilitate the IDPs. The Pakistan Air Force has probably twice bombed various suspected hideouts in Tirrah Valley, sources said.

Though Ansarul Islam has been a pro-government militant group, but it was labelled a banned organisation and the government could not take any proper and immediate action to protect and defend it in Tirrah. It must be noted that AI had not restricted government employees’ activities and had also allowed polio vaccination in Tirrah, but now after the entire Tirrah has fallen to LI and TTP, it would not be possible for government to ensure its writ there nor can it conduct any activity, such as polio or census, etc.

Well-informed sources predict that the TTP and LI-related fighters could come down to Bazaar Zakha Khel where tough fight would erupt, but this may take long. Some days back there was little tension among the fighters affiliated with the LI and TTP on hoisting flags of their choices. The TTP fighters desired to hoist white flags on rooftops, whereas LI fighters wished to hoist their group’s black flag, local sources revealed. It was also learnt that LI chief Mangal Bagh had asked the people getting displaced to keep away from Tirrah Valley and desist from returning until the situation is normal. Sources said that the TTP controls the landline phones in PCOs that is why the actual law and order situation could not be confirmed.

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The fall of Tirah is ringing alarm bells for Peshawar (which is only 80 Kms away).

Fall of Tirah Valley – The Express Tribune

The fall of the Tirah Valley to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) is not sudden; the valley, which remains excommunicated from the rest of the country, has been a war zone for three militant outfits — the TTP, the LI and the Ansarul Islam (AI). The LI and the AI have been battling each other for over seven years in the Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, with turf wars being waged based on sectarian grounds. The area became a stronghold of the TTP after operations were launched in the nearby Orakzai and Kurram tribal agencies. The LI then sought an alliance with the TTP and the AI, previously a banned outfit, which was later considered a tribal militia that was protecting boundaries of the valley from “foreign influence”. In June last year, the TTP took over the majority area held by the Kukikhel tribe, while reports of the presence of the Taliban from as far as the Mohmand Agency also surfaced. Hundreds of people were reportedly killed; however, because of the area being isolated, little information made it to the mainstream media, till almost 90 per cent of the valley went into the TTP’s hands.

On March 16, two press conferences were held at Peshawar Press Club. While the AI spokesperson demanded that the surrounding areas of Peshawar be handed over to the AI because they could protect them “better”, the head of the ANP’s jirga for the tribal areas claimed that there were Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs who had their bases in the area. Ironically, two days later, the TTP took over the Tirah Valley.

**As general elections approach, security officials are now concerned that the routes that lead to Peshawar are also under the control of militants. While opening up a new front for a renewed operation in Tirah is inevitable, there is a serious threat that elections may not be held in a peaceful manner. Even though the Peshawar High Court has ordered the election commission to hold election at the IDP camps, the recent bombing at the Jalozai camp is a grim reminder of the volatile security situation.
**

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2013.

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Khyber Agency: LI threatens Bara tribesmen not to shelter Tirah IDPs – The Express Tribune

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Protesting Tirah IDPs seek registration, relief | Newspaper | DAWN.COM

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sudhir ahmad afridi?!

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Clashes in Tirah kill four soldiers, 14 suspected militants: officials | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

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dont know :)

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Dialogue, NOS, The News International

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You don’t have to be, British had the same problem; blame lies squarely on rest of pakistanis. They are not in military so military is scared to take action in border areas because 1/5th of army is from there. Why is it, that in Indian army 2% Sikh is 30% of armed forces, and majority of force is from Charda Punjab which makes up less than 5% population. OTOH, Lehnda Punjab state is 50% but barely making up 2/3rds of force.

Remember, it is because of one man that Peshawar and Khyber are in Pakistan to begin with; do what he did, or lose it. I’ve heard Hari Bagh (lion) is still the name used by mothers to scare their children to sleep, and the reason so many wear a salwar.

Hari Singh Nalwa, he was born in what today is pakistan too. Generals would be good to study him, whether he was muslim or not; otherwise, you will see afghanistan change to pashtunistan and this time when/if Pakistan is attacked there is an India waiting on its doorstep. And, remember Hinduvta Ideology hates anything not upper caste hindu, they are waiting.
Rape In Hindutva India Delhi Rape | Shining India - YouTube
Pathans never got over losing Peshawar and you’d be good to know that (if you are Pathan you know this). Northern Afghanistan is poor Peshawar, Kabul, and Kandahar were considered the gems of the pathans. I think many Taliban view Pakistanis the same way Charde Punjabis view South Indians, as softies.

I see pak army beating up those it knows are Taliban but not just throwing them in a well, and saying bye. There is no democracy in war, go ahead and try to get kalashinakovs to vote though. :slight_smile:

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^ Pakistan army at the moment is mostly punjabi, I for one am a proponent of a more inclusive army which includes people from all parts from the country including south Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. As far as Peshawar is concerned, through out the history Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Afghanistan (including Kabul) have always remained parts of the same governments. Lastly I don't know which Pathans you think haven't got over losing Peshawar, for clarity purposes they are Afghans. If we open up this pandora box, even Afghanistan is in a similar dilemma, Pashtuns are in the east and south. Hazaras in the middle and Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmen etc in the north bordering central Asian countries of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

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Tirah valley operation intensifies, 23 soldiers killed | Pakistan | DAWN.COM

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Taliban Defend New Perch in Northern Pakistan, Gaining Sway as Election Nears

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how is the situation in Tirah Valley now? I have heard thousands are displaced and in dire need of relief aid.