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At least 30 civilians, including women and children, were killed early Sunday when Pakistan Air Force jets bombed Matre Dara village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley, in what locals describe as one of the deadliest strikes in recent years.
Residents said JF-17 jets dropped multiple precision-guided bombs around 2 a.m., destroying homes and leaving families buried beneath debris. Witnesses describe scenes of chaos, with emergency efforts hampered by the valley’s remoteness and the lack of immediate medical or rescue support.
No official statement has been issued by Pakistan’s military or government. Unverified military-linked accounts point to possible secondary blasts from locally stored explosives – may have contributed to the high civilian toll.
The incident has triggered condemnation from rights organisations, which are calling for an independent investigation and calling for urgent accountability as the death toll is expected to rise. Observers warn the bombing risks inflaming tensions in a region already scarred by years of heavy-handed counterinsurgency operations.
The Tirah Valley has long been a flashpoint in Pakistan’s counterinsurgency campaigns. Past operations in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have drawn criticism for heavy-handed tactics and repeated civilian casualties, deepening resentment among local communities.
With outrage mounting domestically and internationally, the bombing is likely to fuel renewed debate over Pakistan’s air campaign strategy and its human cost.
Team BharatShakti
