Parachinar is on the main road between Kabul and Pakistan and its strategic importance has made it the stage for decades of battles and occupation, from the Mujahadin to the Taliban. Insurgents have controlled the road connecting the city to the rest of the country for five years, restricting movement and causing local merchants to gouge the prices of basic staples such as flour, sugar and rice by up to 10 times their usual rates.
Local schools have been attacked by terrorists and Shias - who make up the majority of its population - are persecuted, kidnapped and killed.
"I thought there would be a ship. When I heard there were going to be 200 people I thought they would go on a ship. But when I saw the news, there was a fishing boat.
"The last thing he said from the boat was, 'Pray for us'."