KHYBER: Though general elections are less than three weeks away, the usual excitement in the run-up to the electoral exercise is missing in Tirah valley this time around.

Residents complain they have yet to be approached by candidates for the lone National Assembly seat and one provincial assembly seat to solicit votes.

They told Dawn that they returned to the picturesque area around nine years ago after displacement but a plethora of issues troubled them.

The residents blamed their misery on the `failure` of the former elected assembly members to keep the promise of providing basic facilities of life to them.

The region was hit by the decade-long presence of militant groups prior to the start of a military operation against them in 2012, according to them.

`As the former assembly members reneged on their promises, the people here have lost interest in election and are focusing on their small-time businesses and ways to improve their agricultural skills,` said Malakdinkhel resident Nauroz Khan.

Farming is a major source of livelihood in the valley.

The resident said though a considerable number of people in the area were affiliated with different political parties, he hadn`t seen party flags on houses nor had a single election-related meeting taken place.

Tirah Tajir Union president Haji Sher Mohammad also insisted that this time around, Tirah residents were not upbeat about elections as they felt `betrayed` by their elected representatives and former candidates.

`It`s very quiet here with most traders busy with their activities instead of showing any interest in canvassing for their candidates. The contestants, too, have yet to make an entry here as part of electioneering, he said.

Mr Mohammad said Tirah residents needed better educational and health facilities, supply of clean drinking water, as well as construction of link roads for easy access to areas and marketplaces.

He complained that both elected assembly members and government departments had failed to keep their promise to rehabilitate returning families even after the passage of around a decade.

The people also say the delicate security situation is a source of concern for them and candidates as authorities have asked over 300 families from different parts of Tirah valley to vacate their houses fearing the presence of armed militants in those areas.

Security forces launched a military operation in troubled parts on a limited scale but later halted it but the displaced families remained to live in dismal conditions away from their homes.

Dr. Noor Nabi, a medical practitioner in the area, also complained about the threat to public life and property in the valley and said that he had moved out of Tirah due to insecurity.

He told Dawn that most election candidates were concerned about their personal security and therefore, they`re neither holding public meetings nor travelling to far-off areas of the valley, mostly located on the Afghan border.