The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Information for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan has stated that terrorists are being facilitated and given refuge in the tribal areas of the province, which compels the security forces to conduct operations.
His remarks come days after alleged aerial strikes in KP’s Tirah Valley killed at least two dozen residents, including women and children. The incident sparked protests in the region, with local tribesmen and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanding an inquiry. Meanwhile, officials maintained that the explosions were caused by terrorists storing and manufacturing explosives in homes.
In an interview on DawnNewsTV’s show Doosra Rukh, Wali was asked about the PTI-led government in KP criticising the security situation, with some members supporting military operations while others opposed them. Responding, he said: “Our brothers, sisters, friends, sons, children, and elders in the tribal areas should not provide refuge to individuals targeted in military operations.”
“Do not make people wanted by the state your guests,” he stressed. When asked if locals were sheltering terrorists, Wali said: “It certainly cannot be an outsider. How would terrorists be operating in these areas otherwise? Someone has to be facilitating and giving them refuge. And when operations are carried out, our citizens also lose their lives.”
Pressed further to confirm if locals were indeed giving shelter, Wali avoided a direct affirmation but repeated: “There certainly has to be facilitation from some side.”
The country, especially KP and Balochistan, has recently witnessed a surge in terrorist incidents, particularly after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its peace deal with the government and vowed to attack security forces, police, and law enforcement.
Earlier this month, a bomb blast during a cricket match in KP’s Bajaur district killed one person, according to the police. In May, four children were killed and five others, including a woman, were injured in a suspected quadcopter attack in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali tehsil, triggering large-scale protests. Locals staged a sit-in for over a week with the victims’ bodies, demanding justice.
Earlier this year, at least 11 people were killed in Mardan in what locals claimed was a drone strike, though officials described it as an operation against militants. Locals, however, insisted that the deceased were civilians, including women and children, working as shepherds.
