We left too," said Gul Afridi, a shopkeeper who fled with his family to the town of Bara located 71 km (44 miles) east of the Tirah Valley. Local officials in the region, who asked to remain unidentified, said thousands of families have fled and are being registered for assistance in nearby towns. The Tirah Valley has long been a sensitive security zone and a stronghold for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an Islamist militant group that has carried out attacks on Pakistani security forces. Residents from Tirah valley, who fled a remote mountainous region bordering Afghanistan, gather to get themself registered, in Bara, Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, January 30, 2026. The Tirah Valley drew national attention in September after a deadly explosion at a suspected bomb-making site, with officials and local leaders offering conflicting accounts of whether civilians were among the dead.

Source: The Telegraph January 31, 2026 10:15 UTC