The situation in Khyber District’s Tirah region has spiraled into chaos, with the Pak Army’s relentless operations wreaking havoc on civilian lives. Communication signals remain suspended, isolating the residents from the outside world and leaving them unaware of the escalating violence. Military operations, mortar shelling, and drone strikes continue unabated, causing severe casualties among ordinary people. Just today, mortar shelling on homes in Tirah Maidan injured three women and a young man, highlighting the indiscriminate brutality of the military’s tactics.
This comes mere days after a tragic incident in Bannu, where three young seminary students—brothers Zeeshan and Wahab, along with their friend Alamzeb—lost their lives after a mortar shell, left behind by the Army, exploded while they innocently played with it, mistaking it for a toy. Such incidents lay bare the reckless and callous policies of the Pak Army and its intelligence apparatus, the ISI, which have long maintained an iron grip over the tribal regions. By fostering chaos and leaving behind remnants of their military campaigns, like unexploded ordnance, the Army continues to endanger the lives of innocent Pashtuns.
For decades, Pashtun lands have been the Army’s playground for experiments in fostering and weaponizing extremism. Young boys have been manipulated into pawns of militant ideologies, their futures destroyed in a calculated strategy aimed at exploiting the region for geopolitical leverage. This cynical policy serves to crush any semblance of Pashtun nationalism or resistance, leaving the region mired in fear and devastation.
The Army’s brutality, cloaked under the guise of counterterrorism, only perpetuates instability while Pashtun civilians bear the brunt of its consequences. These calculated acts of state violence serve the interests of a military establishment that seeks to suppress dissent, maintain control, and further its geopolitical ambitions at the expense of innocent lives. Once again, the people of Tirah and other tribal regions are paying the ultimate price for the Army’s oppressive and exploitative policies.