Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan — The situation in Tirah Valley exposes significant governance failures that officials say have widened instability across the region. Security sources told The Express Tribune that gaps in basic services, weak civil administration and inadequate policing have created a vacuum exploited by extremist and criminal groups.
Frontier Corps (FC) officers point to groups such as Fitna-al-Khawarij, which they allege finance operations through drug trafficking and extortion. The Inspector General of Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa North emphasized the scale of the challenge along the province’s 1,224-kilometre border with Afghanistan, about 717 kilometres of which are under FC responsibility. He described snowbound mountains, high peaks and narrow passes that make border control extremely difficult.
Referring to recent losses, the IG recalled the deadly Bagh Maidan attack last year, in which 64 FC personnel were killed and 198 wounded — casualties he said no other force in the area suffered on a comparable scale. He warned that terrain features and legal restrictions create chokepoints in places like Duatoi, hindering effective searches and checks.
Commanders also highlighted a severe shortage of law enforcement on the ground. In some sectors there are reportedly as few as three police officers available for local communities, leaving civilians and FC units without essential policing support.
Wing Commander Colonel Waqas described an almost complete absence of civil administration in parts of Tirah Valley: no functioning district administration, a minimal police footprint and no hospital for up to 60 kilometres in some areas. He added that government schools and assigned teachers are largely absent, depriving many children of education.
Officials say drug trafficking is a major driver of the problem, with revenues from narcotics and extortion being used to fund armed groups and target both security personnel and civilians. They warned that continuing mismanagement and the collapse of local governance are allowing militant and criminal networks to entrench themselves further, intensifying both the security emergency and the humanitarian hardship faced by residents.
The reporting is based on statements from security and civil officials detailing the operational and administrative shortfalls contributing to the crisis in Tirah Valley.
