May 23, 2025
In a tragic incident that has sparked widespread outrage, a suspected drone strike in the Hurmuz village of Mir Ali tehsil, North Waziristan, resulted in the deaths of four children and injuries to five others, including a woman. The children, all from the same family, were reportedly playing outdoors when the strike occurred.
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| Pashtun Activist Condemns Drone Strike Killing |
Fazal ur Rehman Afridi, a prominent activist from the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), has vehemently condemned the attack. In an interview, Afridi accused the Pakistani military of using Pashtun-populated areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as testing grounds for various weapons, particularly drones. He highlighted that over the past few years, there have been more than 32 drone strikes in North and South Waziristan and the Tank district.
"This is not the first instance where the Pakistani army has assaulted innocent Pashtun civilians, particularly women and children," Afridi stated, noting that the latest victims were children aged between five and eight. He dismissed the military's assertion that the strike targeted militants, accusing the state of relocating over 55,000 Taliban leaders and their families into Pashtun regions through formal arrangements. "Now they label them as terrorists and use this as justification for conducting assaults. It's a proxy conflict. The Taliban are merely pawns of the Pakistan Army," he asserted, suggesting that the true aim behind the strikes is to seize the resource-rich lands of the Pashtuns.
The incident has led to massive protests in the region. Thousands of residents placed the children's bodies on a major road, refusing burial until accountability was provided. Tribal elder Mufti Baitullah demanded government transparency regarding the perpetrator of the attack, warning of escalating protests if answers were not delivered.
The Pakistani government and military have yet to comment on the strike. Mir Ali, a region with a significant Pakistani Taliban presence, has experienced an upsurge in military operations and insurgent violence. Past incidents of civilian casualties, such as a March drone strike in Mardan that killed 11 including women and children, have similarly led to public outcry and demands for compensation.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has also condemned the recent drone strikes in North Waziristan, labeling the attacks as part of a 'systematic genocide' of Pashtuns and urging solidarity among oppressed communities against state violence.
Provincial minister Nayak Muhammad Dawar condemned the attack and stated that investigations are ongoing.
This incident underscores the volatile security situation and the toll on civilians in militant strongholds near the Afghanistan border. The PTM and other human rights organizations continue to call for accountability and an end to military operations that result in civilian casualties.
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