Pakistan silent on drone attacks as South Waziristan strike injures 22, fuels outrage
Photo/Agencies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan remains tight-lipped on a wave of drone attacks in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with a suspected quadcopter strike injuring 22 civilians, including seven minors, during a volleyball match in Azam Warsak, South Waziristan, on Tuesday night.
The attack, echoing a deadly May 19 strike in North Waziristan that killed four children, has sparked fury over the govt's silence and lack of accountability in the volatile tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
The latest assault, security locals said, occurred around 8 pm local time, targeting civilians aged 13 to 60. A 13-year-old boy and an adult male were critically injured and transferred to tertiary care, with seven others severely wounded.
'We were playing volleyball when the explosion hit, followed by gunfire. It was pure panic,' said a resident, requesting anonymity.
The North Waziristan attack in Hurmuz village on May 19 had led to an eight-day sit-in at Mir Ali town. Locals accused authorities of targeting civilians under counter-terrorism pretexts. The military's media affairs wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), denied involvement, blaming the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but offered no clarity.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Tuesday's strike follows a pattern of unclaimed attacks. In March 2025, 11 civilians, including women and children, died in Mardan in an attack that locals said was delivered by drones, though authorities claimed it targeted militants.
In Sept 2024, a drone strike in Upper South Waziristan killed one and injured three, with no official response. Historically, US drone strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas, peaking between 2004 and 2018, drew fierce condemnation for civilian casualties.
Pakistan's protests against US operations, including diplomatic complaints to the UN, contrasted with its own use of armed quadcopters against alleged TTP militants in tribal districts and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since 2020, often without acknowledging civilian tolls.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded independent probes, citing violations of due process in both foreign and domestic strikes.
Islamabad's silence on the latest attack fuels distrust. Pakistan attributes tribal violence to groups like TTP, as in the ISPR's North Waziristan response, but its failure to address quadcopter incidents — whether by state forces or militants — deepens local resentment. 'If drones keep targeting Waziristan, how do we answer our people,' an elder asked during the Mir Ali protests, a sentiment amplified after Tuesday's attack.
Civilians, particularly children, bear the brunt of conflict in a region scarred by militancy and military operations.
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