PESHAWAR, Sep 22: At least 30 people, including women and several children, were killed in bombing by the Pakistan Air Force in Tirah valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Pakistan Human Rights Commission has voiced shock at the incident and demanded that an impartial inquiry be carried out.
According to reports, the Pakistan Air Force carried out the bombing in the wee hours of Monday, with JF-17s dropping bombs on Matre Dara village in Tirah Valley.
The bombing was part of Pakistan’s ongoing counter-terrorism operations against the banned Teheek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is responsible for many terror attacks in Pakistan.
Videos have emerged on social media of small children lying dead following the attack, and people mourning loudly. The bombing destroyed many houses in the village.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it is deeply shocked to learn that a number of civilians, including children, have been killed, allegedly as a result of aerial bombing in Tirah, Khyber district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“We demand that the authorities carry out an immediate and impartial inquiry into the incident and hold to account those responsible. The state is constitutionally bound to protect all civilians’ right to life, which it has repeatedly failed to secure.”
Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, in a post on social media termed it a terrible tragedy. “Sad news from #Pakistan: its Air Force kills some 30 citizens in a village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Why Details are not clear. This is a terrible tragedy. My condolences.”
Amrullah Saleh, former Vice President of Afghanistan, said that in Pakistan the people of the former FATA belt (Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan) have always been considered “expendable” and that the attack is unlikely to figure in mainstream Urdu or English media of Pakistan. He also asked “Isn’t this the beginning of the Balkanization of Pakistan “, and added, “I think it certainly is”.
He posted on X: “What would have happened if the Pakistan Air Force had killed 23 civilians somewhere in Punjab
“I read in the news that they dropped bombs on civilian homes in the mountainous parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and killed many (23) civilians.
“The people of the former FATA (tribal belt) have always been an expendable part of Pakistani society. I’m not sure if even the mainstream Urdu or English media of Pakistan have given the attack any coverage.
“Isn’t this the beginning of the Balkanization of Pakistan
“I think it certainly is.
“The Taliban, both TTA and TTP are a Pakistani-made poison, and the GHQ has its antidote too, but in my expert view the antidote isn’t F-16s dropping bombs on the civilians, to say the least.
“I hope Pakistan’s defense minister reads this note. He owes the Afghan people a public apology for his arrogant statement in praise of Taliban and terrorism in 2020.”
Former DGP of J&K Shesh Paul Vaid in a video message on X said, “Massacre by Pakistan once again! More than 30 civilians, including women and children, butchered after Pakistan Air Force dropped 8 bombs on a village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Dark day for its own people. Shameful!”
Meanwhile, protests have begun in the area, with leaders of the Afridi Pashtun tribe holding a meeting with local residents, with reports that they may be planning to lay siege to the Pakistan Air Force station located in Peshawar.
(UNI )
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