.
BARA:
Pashtun Students Khyber district staged a silent protest on Sunday at Khyber Chowk, Bara’s main commercial center, demanding the recovery of two missing Peshawar University students and opposing renewed displacement from Tirah Valley.
Protesters covered their mouths with black bands and held placards highlighting their grievances, drawing attention to what they described as ongoing insecurity, human rights violations, and the silencing of dissenting voices in the region.
Hashim Khan Afridi, president of the Bara Political Alliance, said the demonstration aimed to send a clear message to authorities that prolonged instability has caused severe human and financial losses. He alleged that those who speak out against the situation are forcibly silenced. “Any decision on displacement from Tirah Valley must have the consent of local elders and the provincial government,” he added.
After the protest, participants marched on foot from Khyber Chowk to the Bara Press Club. Demonstrators claimed that Adnan Khan, from the Department of Political Science, and Habib Wazir, from the Department of International Relations at UoP, attended a provincial peace jirga on October 12 but were allegedly taken into custody along with five others upon returning home. Their families say they have yet to be presented before any court.
Naqeebullah Afridi, a student at FATA University, said the forced displacement of Tirah Valley residents has resumed, leaving locals in severe hardship. The region has witnessed three years of clashes between security forces and armed groups, causing fear, civilian casualties, and repeated displacement.
A recent 24-member committee, including representatives of Tirah Valley, security forces, and district administration, reached an agreement on displacement. Under the agreement, registration of displaced.
