PESHAWAR:
At least 14 terrorists and 10 civilians were killed in a powerful explosion at an improvised explosive device (IED) manufacturing facility in the Akakhel area of Khyber district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), late on Sunday night.
According to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the blast occurred inside the IED-making factory set up by Khawarij militants Amaan Gul and Masood Tashkeel. The term Khawarij refers to terrorists belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
However, controversy erupted on Monday when provincial lawmaker Sohail Afridi, speaking on the floor of the K-P Assembly, claimed that 25 people had actually died when security forces carried out a deadly airstrike in the Tirah valley.
Police sources told APP that Amaan Gul and Masood Tashkeel had established the IED factory in the middle of a populated neighbourhood. The blast destroyed five nearby houses, they added. Local residents also confirmed that the factory was located inside a residential cluster.
“There was an initial large explosion inside the IED factory, which engulfed surrounding houses,” a police officer told APP. “The terrorists were using the civilian population as human shields, resulting in collateral damage,” he added.
“Some nearby houses were also damaged, and there are unconfirmed reports of women and children among the casualties. Security officials are still trying to verify these reports,” a source told Anadolu Agency.
Opposition lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which governs K-P but sits in opposition at the centre, insisted that civilians were killed because of aerial bombardment.
“It was the security forces’ aircraft that carried out the shelling. Their shelling killed 23 people,” said Iqbal Afridi, a PTI member of the National Assembly whose constituency covers Tirah, speaking to AFP.
A senior police officer stationed in Tirah also told AFP that seven women and four children were among the 23 dead, without attributing the assault to either side. “The jets targeted four houses, which were completely destroyed,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Speaking on a point of order in the provincial assembly, Sohail Afridi claimed that bombardment from security force jets struck local communities, killing women, children and the elderly. He said the death toll from the incident had risen to 25.
Afridi drew comparisons with earlier operations in Alam Godar and Qamarabad, where, according to him, civilians had also been killed. “In one incident, 10 members of the same family were martyred,” he said. “What kind of policy is this?” he asked.
He urged lawmakers to push for legislation requiring the automatic registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) whenever civilians are killed. Afridi also announced plans for a peace march later this week.
The controversy deepened further when K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati condemned the incident in unusually strong terms. Expressing sorrow over the “martyrdom of innocent civilians and destruction of homes due to airstrikes,” Swati called it a tragic chapter in the nation’s history.
“The death of citizens, including women and children, shows that the lives of ordinary people in this country are no longer safe,” the speaker said. “When the blood of our own people is made so cheap and bombs are dropped on them, it sparks a fire that can engulf everyone.”
He urged all political forces to put aside their differences and adopt a joint strategy to protect citizens. “If the country survives, we all survive. But if our people continue to die like this, no one will escape the consequences,” he warned.
Swati demanded that both federal and provincial governments conduct a transparent and immediate investigation, identify those responsible, and provide relief and compensation to the affected families.
He also called for long-term rehabilitation measures for displaced and traumatised residents. “The protection of citizens’ lives and property is the fundamental responsibility of the state,” he said. “Negligence in this duty cannot be tolerated.”
On the other hand, the APP report said police rejected claims of indiscriminate bombing by security forces, calling them part of a “desperate smear campaign” aimed at undermining Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.
“The so-called bombing narrative is nothing but propaganda designed to protect terrorists and malign Pakistan’s armed forces,” said one senior officer. “Our operations are solely targeted against Khawarij terrorists, who destabilise the country through bloodshed and deceit.”
Local tribesmen echoed this claim, accusing militants of cowardice for embedding their operations inside civilian dwellings and even mosques. “This is their old tactic: use our people as shields and then blame the state,” one elder remarked.
An official handout issued by the K-P Chief Minister’s House did not mention airstrikes. It said that a delegation from Tirah called on Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur along with MNA Iqbal Afridi and discussed the law and order situation.
“The meeting reviewed the law and order situation in the wake of the recent tragic incident in Tirah and expressed deep sorrow over the loss of innocent lives,” the handout said, adding that participants also discussed measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
The chief minister announced financial assistance of Rs10 million for each victim’s family. He said the loss of civilian lives in such incidents was both tragic and condemnable, stressing that civilian casualties as a result of action against terrorists were unacceptable.
“It was decided that a grand jirga comprising elected representatives, political leaders and local elders would soon meet senior military officials to finalise a joint strategy for ensuring peace in the region.”
The meeting also agreed that, similar to the model adopted in Bajaur, a comprehensive plan would be implemented in Tirah to restore law and order. Emphasis was laid on winning the confidence of the local population as an essential step towards lasting peace, the handout added.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “deeply shocked” to learn of the deaths “allegedly as a result of aerial bombing”. The HRCP demanded an “immediate and impartial inquiry” into the incident and accountability for those responsible.
(WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES)
