Peshawar (Pakistan): At least 24 people, including women and children, were killed and several others injured on Monday when a powerful explosion ripped through a compound allegedly used by the Pakistani Taliban in the restive Tirah Valley of Khyber district, police and local sources confirmed.
Conflicting claims emerged soon after the incident. Police officials maintained that explosives stored at the compound detonated, killing 14 militants and at least 10 civilians, including women and children. However, local residents and opposition leaders alleged that Pakistani fighter jets bombed the compound, destroying at least five houses.
The compound, located in Matur Dara area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, was reportedly a hub for militant training and the manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Dozens of Afghan fighters were said to have been operating from the site.
Station House Officer Zafar Khan of Tirah Police Station said the blast was caused by explosives being stockpiled by militants. But locals staged protests, closing the Bara Bazaar and demanding accountability. Protesters accused authorities of failing to protect civilians, while calling upon lawmakers to address the community’s grievances.
Mohammad Iqbal Khan Afridi, a Member of the National Assembly from Khyber, expressed grief and squarely blamed aerial shelling for the deaths. “Women and children were among those killed in the bombing by jets,” he said in a video message, urging residents to protest the killings.
Similarly, Provincial Assembly lawmaker Abdul Ghani Afridi declared that “21 innocent citizens, including children and helpless women, were killed due to bombing by jet aircraft,” vowing to raise the issue on every forum.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also voiced concern, demanding an impartial probe into the tragedy. “The state is constitutionally bound to protect civilians’ right to life, which it has repeatedly failed to secure,” the rights body said in a statement, calling for accountability.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have long been accused of embedding within civilian areas to shield their fighters from security operations. Police officials stressed that such unsafe stockpiles frequently cause deadly accidents.
The explosion comes amid a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, undermining Islamabad’s hopes that a friendly Afghan regime would curb cross-border militancy.
With the government yet to issue an official statement, the tragedy in Tirah Valley has once again spotlighted the growing insecurity in northwest Pakistan, the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire, and the urgent demand for accountability.
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