By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: An apparent airstrike in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has sparked outrage and demands for accountability after jets allegedly levelled four homes in the Tirah Valley, killing civilians in what provincial authorities called an “unacceptable” tragedy during operations against insurgents.
A senior police officer, speaking anonymously to Agence France-Presse, said the predawn attack on Sunday destroyed the targeted houses. The officer did not identify who conducted the strikes, but the incident drew sharp condemnation from provincial leaders, lawmakers and human rights groups.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur met with a delegation from the district Monday, joined by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Iqbal Afridi, the provincial chief secretary, the additional chief secretary for home affairs, the Peshawar commissioner and other officials, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
The group reviewed the region’s security situation in light of the “unfortunate incident.” “The martyrdom of civilians in the incident is regrettable and condemnable,” Gandapur said, according to the statement. “Martyrdom of civilians as a result of operations against terrorists is unacceptable.” The meeting expressed regret over the deaths and included prayers for the victims, the statement said.
Gandapur announced compensation of Rs10 million for each victim’s family and vowed to develop a plan to prevent future civilian casualties. To that end, officials agreed to convene a jirga, a traditional assembly of local elders, elected representatives and political party leaders, to meet with top military officials and chart a path for peace in Tirah, modeled on strategies used in Bajaur, another volatile district. The statement emphasized the need to build trust with local residents to restore stability.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan expressed shock at reports of civilian deaths from “alleged aerial bombing” and called for an immediate, impartial investigation to hold those responsible accountable. “The state is constitutionally bound to protect all civilians’ right to life, which it has repeatedly failed to secure,” the commission said in a statement.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Swati echoed the call for a “transparent and immediate investigation” in a post on X, urging both federal and provincial governments to identify those responsible and provide relief and rehabilitation for affected families.
He expressed sorrow over the “martyrdom of innocent civilians and the destruction of homes due to the bombardment by jet aircraft.” In the provincial assembly, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Communication and Works Sohail Afridi described the attack as a “horrifying tragedy” that killed 25 people, including women and children, when “mortar and bombs were dropped” at 2 a.m.
Lawmaker Iqbal Afridi, in a Pashto-language video shared with media, mourned the deaths of elderly women and children in what he called “shelling by jets.” He urged locals to protest at the site, decrying the incident as part of a pattern. “The killing of civilians has become a routine,” he said.
The Tirah strike follows similar incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In May, 22 people, including seven children, were injured in an alleged quadcopter attack in South Waziristan’s Wana tehsil. That same month, four children were killed and five others injured in a suspected quadcopter strike in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali tehsil.
The military later said it was “falsely implicated” in the latter incident, attributing it to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. As grief and anger ripple through Tirah, the promised jirga and investigation will test the government’s ability to balance security operations with the protection of civilians in a region long scarred by militancy and military action.
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