No official confirmation yet regarding the deaths of 24 individuals, including 14 militants, in a tribal region as opposition parties accuse the military of orchestrating the blasts.
Published On 23 Sep 2025
Tragic explosions in a secluded part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan have resulted in the deaths of at least 24 individuals, including children, sparking demands for a thorough investigation.
According to a local law enforcement official, the blasts occurred early Monday in the Tirah Valley, where materials used for bomb-making, reportedly stored at a compound linked to the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), detonated, killing both militants and civilians.
However, numerous opposition leaders and regional authorities have accused the Pakistani military of conducting nocturnal airstrikes aimed at eliminating militants in the mountainous border areas adjacent to Afghanistan.
No formal announcement has yet been issued by Pakistan’s government or military regarding the incident.
Zafar Khan, a local police officer, told The Associated Press that the casualties included at least 10 civilians-among them women and children-and 14 militants, two of whom were commanders within the TTP.
Security operations targeting the Pakistan Taliban continue across Khyber, Bajaur, and other northwestern regions. The banned group has been engaged in an armed insurgency against the Pakistani state since its inception in 2007. It is distinct from the Afghan Taliban, although both share ideological foundations.
‘Targeting Defenseless Civilians’
Iqbal Afridi, a National Assembly opposition member representing Tirah near the Afghan border, told AFP that Pakistani military aircraft carried out airstrikes responsible for the explosions.
In a session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly on Monday afternoon, legislator Sohail Khan Afridi also held the military accountable for the incident.
“This operation by security forces amounts to an assault on innocent civilians,” he asserted.
Both politicians belong to the party led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned and whose party governs the province.
Babar Saleem Swati, speaker of the provincial assembly, posted on X that the bombardment by fighter jets resulted in civilian deaths and destruction of homes, warning that such actions could have dire repercussions for the nation’s future.
“When the lives of our own people are treated with such disregard and bombs fall on them, it ignites a fire that threatens everyone,” Swati said, urging both federal and provincial authorities to launch a transparent inquiry and provide compensation to the victims’ families.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent watchdog, expressed profound shock over the killing of children and civilians in the attack.
“We call on the authorities to promptly conduct an unbiased investigation and hold those responsible accountable. The state has a constitutional duty to safeguard the right to life of all civilians, a responsibility it has repeatedly failed to uphold,” the commission stated.
