By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Three children were killed and at least 10 other people wounded on Thursday in two separate attacks in South Waziristan district, security officials said, the latest in a surge of violence that has strained relations along the Afghan border.
The first attack occurred near a civilian settlement in the Gawa Khwa area, where an explosion tore through the vicinity of a house after terrorists hid cylinders packed with explosives, the officials said. The dead were a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 8 and 7, all from the same family. Several others were injured and rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana for treatment.
The second assault took place in the border tehsil of Angoor Adda, where Afghan Taliban forces fired three mortar shells that struck a market area close to the Durand Line. The rounds hit the Ghazi Rehman Hotel and adjacent shops, wounding 10 civilians who were also taken to the Wana hospital. Their conditions were described as critical.
Security officials attributed the Gawa Khwa explosion to “Fitna al Khawarij,” the Pakistani state’s term for militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. They said the group had hidden the explosive devices near the house in a deliberate strike on unarmed civilians. Local residents voiced deep grief and anger, describing the incident as another example of militants deliberately targeting women and children. Officials noted that such attacks on the general population have occurred repeatedly in South Waziristan and nearby areas in recent months.
In a statement, the officials condemned the Angoor Adda shelling as “not only a violation of international laws but also a clear violation of human rights.” They described the Afghan Taliban’s actions as “the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region” and said the group and its affiliated militants “have always targeted the common people to achieve their nefarious goals.”
Pakistan, the officials added, “prioritizes peace, stability and relations based on mutual respect,” but its commitment to securing its borders and protecting its citizens “is unwavering, and this is the hallmark of a responsible state.” The attacks come against a backdrop of steadily worsening security in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly pressed the Taliban leadership to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those used by the TTP. Pakistani officials say those appeals have been ignored.
Violence has flared repeatedly along the border in recent weeks. Last week, Pakistan’s military said it killed 13 Indian-sponsored terrorists in two foiled infiltration attempts along the Pak-Afghan frontier in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In April, four terrorists were killed and a police constable died in separate clashes in the Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts of the same province. Earlier that month, mortar shells fired from across the Afghan border struck a house in Bajaur, killing two children and a woman and wounding three others. Pakistani authorities have long accused the TTP of using Afghan territory as a base to launch cross-border raids
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