Islamabad: Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif has categorically stated that no military operation is being carried out in Tirah Valley, describing the migration of people as a routine and seasonal process due to harsh weather and snowfall.

According to Radio Pakistan, addressing a news conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Prime Minister's Coordinator for Information Ikhtiar Wali Khan, the defence minister emphasized that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were strategically preferred over large-scale military operations. The armed forces had ceased large-scale operations years ago, opting for IBOs as a more effective means to combat terrorism.

Khawaja Asif reaffirmed that IBOs would persist in their role to eliminate terrorism from the country's soil. The minister clarified that the armed forces stationed in the area had no involvement in the displacement of residents. He explained that this displacement is part of an arrangement between the local jirga and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Furthermore, he highlighted that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had approved a relief package amounting to four billion rupees for the people of Tirah Valley who migrate seasonally.