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Tirah, also spelled Terah (Pashto: تیراہ), also called the Tirah Valley (د تیرا دره), is a mountainous region located in the Orakzai District and the southern part of the Khyber District, positioned between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan.[1] Due to its proximity to the Afghan-Pakistan border and challenging terrain, maintaining control of Tirah has been historically difficult for the Government of Pakistan. In 2003, for the first time since Pakistan's independence, the Army entered the Tirah Valley.[2]
The region is predominantly inhabited by Pashtuns, with minority communities referred to as Hamsaya (protected peoples), including a Sikh community primarily involved in trade and other professions.[3]
Since 2011, the security situation in the Tirah Valley has steadily deteriorated due to ongoing conflict between numerous armed militant groups, primarily the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-e-Islam, and Pakistan Security Forces.[4] This conflict has led to the displacement of over one million people, forced from their homes by rising extremism and militancy.[5]
- ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (August 2012). Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field. C. Hurst (Publishers) Limited. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-84904-226-0.
- ^ Yusufzai, Rahimullah (4 March 2004). "Waziristan: Bin Laden's hiding place?". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "In pictures: Valley of change". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 31 October 2003. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ Afridi, Jamaima (17 September 2024). "For Tirah Valley's internally displaced, there's no way home". dawn.com. Dawn. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
- ^ "Pakistan: Humanitarian Snapshot - Internal Displacement in Tirah Valley". www.unocha.org. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 3 June 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2024.