Entertainment
Govt dismisses ‘misleading claims’ regarding depopulation of Tirah Valley
- Neither govt nor army ordered evacuation in Tirah, says ministry.
- Calls such claims as ‘baseless, malicious, driven by ulterior motives’.
- Cites KP’s notification releasing Rs4bn for temporary displacement.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected the “misleading claims” regarding the alleged “depopulation” from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley “on the orders of the Army” amid reports of evacuation of families ahead of a planned operation.
In a clarification issued late on Saturday, the ministry stated: “These assertions are baseless, malicious, and driven by ulterior motives aimed at creating alarm among the public, disinformation against security institutions and furthering vested political interest.”
The statement came after evacuations began in Tirah’s Maidan area on January 9 in preparation for a security operation, expected to conclude within two months, with rehabilitation and returns set for April 5.
It read that no directives had been issued by the federal government or the armed forces to depopulate the area, which lies in the Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border.
The statement said law enforcement agencies were routinely carrying out “targeted, intelligence-based operations” against terrorist elements.
It added that these actions were designed in a manner to avoid “disruption to peaceful civilian life for which no depopulation or migration is needed or being undertaken”.
The ministry also referred to concerns among local people about the presence of militants, saying that the Tirah locals wanted peace and stability.
It detailed that the KP’s Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department issued a notification on December 26, 2025, releasing funds — reportedly Rs4 billion — for what it described as “anticipated temporary and voluntary movement of population from certain localities in Tirah (Bagh)”.
According to the statement, the provincial government requested facilitation for advance preparedness and relief-related arrangements, including transportation, food support, cash assistance, and the establishment and management of transit and registration points.
Citing the document, the ministry said the deputy commissioner of Khyber conveyed that the proposed voluntary movement reflected the will of the local population, expressed through a representative jirga, while taking into account seasonal, logistical and contextual considerations, and adopting a non-camp-based modality.
The ministry strongly rejected any media statements by the provincial government or its officials linking the said migration to the armed forces, calling such claims “false and fabricated” and alleging they were made with mala fide intent to gain political capital and malign security institutions.
Meanwhile, on Friday, several families fleeing their homes in Tirah Valley were stranded on snow-covered roads as heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures gripped parts of the province, triggering rescue operations.
Rescue 1122 said more than 25 vehicles carrying 65 people stranded in snow were safely rescued. Severe cold also led to multiple cases of hypothermia, particularly among children, an official at Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) said.
“At least 20 children were shifted to HMC with symptoms including shivering, fatigue and low body temperature,” the official added.
The Pakistan Army also remained engaged in relief efforts, rescuing 20 stranded residents and relocating them to secure locations.
A 200-bed facility was prepared at the Tirah Administrative Complex, where food, warm shelter and other basic facilities were being continuously provided to evacuating families.
The Traitors’ winner Rachel Duffy has shared a sweet yet emotional tribute to her mother, Anne.
Throughout the show, mother-of-three, 43, shared her plans for how she would use the prize money if she won ,by creating memories with her mum, who was tragically diagnosed with Parkinson’s at just 47 and spent her last few years with dementia.
Sharing the heartbreaking news on her Instagram on Tuesday morning, January 27, 2026, Rachel Duffy said she was “heartbroken” at the death of her “beautiful wee mummy.”
On Sunday, Rachel took to Instagram where she shared a montage of photos and an emotional message. She wrote: ‘Thank you Mummy, thank you for loving us so much.
‘Thank you for teaching us our worth. Thank you for so much kindness shown and taught. Thank you for endless laughs and lots of fun. Thank you for helping us parent our babies. Thank you for being a shoulder to cry on when we needed one.
‘Thank you for the many words of wisdom over the years. Thank you for showing us the true meaning of integrity. Thank you for giving us a beautiful life. Thank you for a lifetime of happy memories.
‘Thank you for being our mummy. We love you x’.
It comes after she won the BBC reality show The Traitors along with her fellow Traitor, Stephen Duffy.
Trevor Noah hosted the Grammys for a record sixth time after the show’s producer, Ben Winston, revealed ahead of the ceremony that he begged the comedian for his services.
“It got to December, and we hadn’t found anybody that we absolutely loved. I sent him a video, and I was literally, I was on my knees in this video, and I said, ‘Please look at this incredible lineup that we’ve got on the show — the only thing that’s missing is you,’” the producing executive admitted. “‘Come back and do one final year, it’s the last year on CBS, let’s make it your last year too.’”
While Noah generously accepted the offer, the ceremony ended up on Donald Trump’s radar due to the very hosting stint which Winston went all out for.
The American president denounced the Epstein joke which the Grammys host made at his expense and threatened legal action.
“The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer,” the head of state shared via his Truth Social profile.
Taking a dig at Noah, Trump continued, “The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards.”
“Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media.”
For the record, Noah initiated his joke about Trump as he congratulated Billie Eilish for winning song of the year.
“There you have it, song of the year! Congratulations, Billie Eilish. Wow. That’s a Grammy that every artist wants, almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,” he said. “Which makes sense because, since Epstein’s gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton. I told you, it’s my last year! What are you going to do about it?”
Trump further listed George Stephanopoulos, host and former White House Communications Director, as someone he has successfully sued. While he told Trevor Noah to “get ready” because he plans to “have some fun” with him.
CEO Jensen Huang has rebuffed the reports claiming that Nvidia was considering retracting its fresh, enormous investment in OpenAI,
Nvidia is poised to make its “largest ever investment” in ChatGPT developer OpenAI, despite recent reports suggesting that the deal may be under threat.
Huang dismissed claims of dissatisfaction with OpenAI as “nonsense”.
While Nvidia CFO Colette Kress stated in December 2025 that the company had not completed a definitive agreement with OpenAI, some senior officials in Nvidia have indicated that an official agreement between the two companies would soon be finalised.
How much is Nvidia investing in OpenAI?
The Nvidia CEO did not disclose the exact amount of the investment but clarified that it would be “nothing like” the $100 billion figure mentioned in the partnership agreement signed in September.
“We will definitely participate in the next round of financing, because it’s such a good investment,” Huang told reporters at a press conference, as reported by Bloomberg.
Being the world’s most valuable company, Nvidia produces a considerable amount of hardware that powers tools like ChatGPT and Sora.
Another point of note is that Nvidia’s technology is crucial to the AI data centres that OpenAI is gearing up to invest hundreds of billions in across the US. These data centres are expected to consume as much electricity as India in the process.
Huang’s clarification on Nvidia’s OpenAI investment comes on the heels of a report from The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, which dubbed the deal “on ice.”
The Journal also reported that Huang had privately expressed concerns regarding “a lack of discipline in OpenAI’s business approach” and the increasing competition from competitors like Google and Anthropic.
Surprisingly, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman also expressed competition concerns recently.
He announced in December a pause on other projects to focus on enhancing ChatGPT’s user experience, after Google’s Gemini 3 outperformed it in various benchmarking tests.
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