Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has condemned the killing of civilians in the Sunday evening attack in Tira, saying such incidents are “unacceptable and worrisome”.
Reports from the area suggest that the incident occurred as a result of a Pakistani military airstrike. However, the Pakistani military has not commented on the strike so far.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has announced financial assistance of 10 million rupees for each of the deceased’s families.
The caretaker Chief Minister’s office quoted Gandapur in a statement as saying, “The killing of civilians in the incident is regrettable and condemnable.” Gandapur has decided to convene a joint jirga of area representatives, political leaders, and local tribal elders with military officials to explore ways to prevent such incidents in the future and find paths to peace.
What do the locals say about the attack
Local residents and people’s representatives say the attack was carried out by fighter jets, which targeted civilian homes. After the attack, the local people started a protest rally, raising their voices against military operations.
It seems like locals are saying that the drone attack resulted in the deaths of civilians, including children. In a similar incident in Khost, local sources reported that at least 8 civilians, including children, were killed or injured in a drone strike near the Durand Line in the Spera district.
After the attack, on Monday morning, people from nearby villages searched through the rubble for bodies and injured individuals, with some areas completely destroyed. Local residents have shared videos on social media showing the aftermath of the attack. Videos obtained by BBC also show that among the dead are children.
A local resident and eyewitness, who is taking videos of the destroyed homes and speaking to people, says: “Shadla was bombed by jets at 2 am last night. This house was hit, and women and children were killed.” Many images have been shared showing that children and women were among those killed in the attack.
According to locals, at least 30 bodies have been recovered from the attack site. During a speech in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday, provincial lawmaker Sohail Khan Afridi strongly criticized the military. He said, “The attack by security forces was an attack on unarmed civilians.”
Protests at Tira Valley
After the incident, hundreds of people came out in protest in the Akakhel area of Tira Valley. In the National Assembly of Pakistan, one of the area’s representatives, Iqbal Afridi, claimed that civilians are being deliberately targeted in such attacks on a large scale. “I have been against this action before; I raised my voice in the House of Lords, and now I condemn it again on this pure land of the tribes.”
The protesters warned that if justice is not served and such operations are not halted, people will make their own decisions against it. One speaker, addressing the local tribal people, said, “Today, you Afridis will make the decision, and the Afridis will make a decision that will bring change to this land.”
The Pashtun Protection Movement leader, Manzoor Pashteen, also released a statement regarding the Tira attack. He claimed that the Pakistani military, under the guise of operations against militants, kills civilians, loots their belongings, and is not accountable to anyone. He urged the Pashtuns to raise their voices against this violence.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has described the incident as “disturbing” and called for an independent investigation into the matter.
The commission’s statement said that the government is responsible for protecting its citizens but has often failed in this duty.
The Pakistani military has not yet made any official statement about these operations. However, a local security official said that the bombing targeted four houses, which were completely destroyed.
But the Punjabi liar media and social media trolls, fake accounts of the Punjabi army, and Punjabi fascist journalists and paid social activists are spreading false propaganda that the army did not drop bombs, but rather that the casualties among civilians occurred due to the explosion of militants’ explosives. Do the Taliban store explosives?
“Taliban storing ammunition in Pashtun homes is a crude joke with Pashtun blood?
This false propaganda, contrary to logical reasoning, proves that the Punjabi community in Pakistan as a whole is a liar and a fascist nation with a low character. The Pakistan army has recently intensified military operations and airstrikes against militants in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in civilian casualties and sparking widespread anger and protests in various areas.”
