Bajaur | Pakistan

PTI MPA Anwar Zeb Khan has said that one person has been injured after his home in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district was targeted in a “drone attack” last night, it emerged on Friday. In a video statement posted on his social media account on Thursday, the provincial lawmaker said, “My house in Raghagan, Khar tehsil, was targeted by a drone (quadcopter) attack by unknown individuals tonight, injuring one of my security guards.” Khan, who said he was in Peshawar at the time of the incident, strongly condemned the incident. He also identified the injured as Zair Muhammad, saying he was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in Khar. Following the incident, police personnel arrived at the scene and initiated an investigation. However, local police have not yet released any official statement regarding the nature of the incident and those responsible. Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, in a statement, condemned the incident, terming it an act by “anti-peace elements”. As per the statement, CM Af...

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi has announced the provincial government will provide complete free medical treatment for a young cancer patient from Bajaur.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday paid tribute to the security forces for foiling an attempt by terrorists to infiltrate from across the border in Bajaur district.

Pakistan’s security forces foiled an infiltration attempt from across the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, killing four terrorists, including a high-value Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander, during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Bajaur district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.

Security forces conducted a successful operation in Bajaur on Wednesday, killing one militant while several others escaped with injuries.

At least three young boys were killed and five others injured when explosive shells left behind by Khawarij militants detonated in Bajaur’s Mamund Tehsil.

At least four teenagers were killed and two other people were injured when a mortar shell exploded in a field in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur area on Saturday, according to police officials. Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafiq told Dawn.com about the incident and said that the dead and injured were transported to Khar Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital. “Initial reports suggest that a mortar shell exploded in the field, killing the young men,” he said, adding that the deceased ranged in age between 13 and 18. Meanwhile, Nisar Baaz Khan, a member of the provincial assembly (MPA) from Bajaur, condemned the incident in a statement on social media and claimed that according to local residents, a quadcopter hit the village and killed innocent civilians. “What crime had these innocent flower-like children committed? What purpose is being served by staining the earth with their innocent blood?” he was quoted as asking. “The state institutions and provincial government have repeatedly claimed that vari...

At least one person was killed in a bomb blast while a cricket match was being played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Saturday, according to the police. Bajaur District Police Officer Waqas Rafique confirmed the incident to Dawn.com in Khar tehsil’s Kausar Cricket Ground and said the blast was carried out through an improvised explosive device. “It appears to be a targeted attack,” he added. Last Saturday, two people, including a police official, were wounded after terrorists attacked a police station in the district’s Laghari area of Lowi Mamund tehsil through a quadcopter. Sources said police constable Mohammad Habib and civilian Najeeb Khan were injured in the attack, which also damaged a vehicle parked on the premises. Israr Khan, a public relations officer of the district police, had told Dawn that the injured were immediately shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Khar. He also said terrorists launched another attack on the police station through a quadcopter but it missed the targe...

At least five people were killed after lightning struck Jabrari village in the Salarzai area of Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, amid heavy rainfall on Friday, rescue officials said.

• ‘Nine terrorists killed’ during targeted operation • Registration begins for displaced families; each household offered Rs75,000 BAJAUR: As security forces claimed to have eliminated nine terrorists in an ongoing ‘targeted operation’, the district administration on Thursday ordered residents of 26 areas in the restive Lowi and War Mamund tehsils to evacuate their homes by Aug 16 for the ‘planned targeted operation’ against militants in Bajaur. Sources claimed nine militants had been killed during the ongoing operation in Bajaur’s mountainous areas. They claimed that the operation, based on credible intelligence, involves both ground and aerial assets to neutralise the terrorist presence and was conducted in the Damadola area. Official sources said militants tried to hide bodies in caves and hideouts, but security forces have systematically cleared these areas. However, the military’s media wing, ISPR, has not issued any statement in this regard so far. Residents of 26 areas in both Lowi Mamund and War Mamun...

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur on Tuesday informed provincial cabinet that security forces were conducting targeted operation in Bajaur tribal district after failure of negotiations between a local jirga and terrorists. An official statement issued here said that Mr Gandapur chaired the meeting of cabinet and talked about law and order situation and condemned anti-state elements attempting to destabilise the country. He said that terrorism was unequivocally unacceptable as it impacted all people equally. He said that provincial government adopted a proactive strategy and established jirgas to build public trust and enlist community support in the fight against terrorism. He said that proliferation of terrorism would not be tolerated and writ of government would be upheld without compromise. The chief minister said that operations and forced displacement of civilians were not his government’s policy. He confirmed that no authorisation was given for such actions. He said that Section 144 was im...

PESHAWAR: Around 55,000 people have been displaced from different areas of Mamund tehsil in Bajaur tribal district due to the military operation, while 400,000 residents remain hostage to the suddenly-imposed curfew, local lawmaker Nisar Baz told the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday. During a debate on the law and order situation in the province with Speaker Babar Saleem Swati chairing the session, Mr Baz of the opposition Awami National Party insisted that the people displaced from his district due to a military operation against terrorismfaced multiple problems due to the government’s failure to cater for them. He said that neither the provincial government nor the federal government had made any arrangements to meet the needs of displaced residents. Mr Baz urged authorities to lift curfew to enable people to shift to safety. Opposition demands end to curfew to help residents move to safety “Almost the entire population is literally hostage to the curfew, which halted their migration. It’s astonishing ...

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department on Monday announced that a three-day curfew was being imposed from today until August 14 (Thursday) amid an operation against militants in the areas. At the end of July, security forces backed by gunship helicopters and artillery launched ‘Operation Sarbakaf’ against terrorists in Lowi Mamund tehsil and imposed a three-day curfew in the region. The operation was paused after both sides agreed to a ceasefire until the conflict was completely resolved thro­ugh dialogue; however, peace talks between militant commanders and the Bajaur peace jirga fell through. Today’s statement said that the curfew would be imposed from 11am today until 11am on August 14, in order to ensure the safety of the public during the anti-terror operation. “A complete curfew will be imposed … in which movement on the roads and leaving houses will be prohibited,” the statement read. It listed Laghari, Guati, Ghanam Shah, Bad Siya, Kamar, Amanta, Zagai, Gut, Gunde, Gadigal, Niag Kali, Rigi, Daag, Dama...

PESHAWAR: Elders from Bajaur and Mohmand tribal districts on Monday assured authorities of full cooperation to eliminate terrorism from the region, declaring it the “enemy of all.” They, however, opposed any military offensive and forced displacement in the region for the sake of peace. The elders gathered in a “consultative jirga” on the law and order situation in the province here with Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in the chair. This is the second such gathering, held in line with the declaration of the July 24 multi-party conference. CM chairs jirga on law and order The first jirga, also presided over by the chief minister, was held on August 2 with elders from Orakzai and Khyber districts, Darra Adamkhel tehsil of Kohat district and subdivision Hassankhel of Peshawar district, at the Chief Minister’s House here. The participants opposed any military operation and forced displacement in the region. They wondered if authorities would promise in writing that the military operation would eradicate ter...

BAJAUR: Terrorists in Bajaur district have conditionally agreed to vacate civilian areas, but would not leave the district completely, sources said on Saturday. The second round of talks between Bajaur Aman (peace) Jirga members and local terrorist leaders aimed at convincing them to leave the region ended on Saturday, said the sources. They told Dawn that talks between the 50-member peace jirga and terrorist leaders were held in the Lowi Mamund tehsil. The terrorists had requested a day’s time at the Friday meeting to consult their leadership over the jirga’s two-point demands — either to return to Afghanistan or retreat to the mountains if they wanted to fight the security forces, as their presence posed a serious threat to locals. However, the sources said that no significant development took place in this crucial meeting, meant to convince the terrorist to leave the region peacefully. The details of the meeting, which started at around 3pm and ended late on Saturday evening, have yet to be formally disclo...

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms on Wednesday shared a video, claiming it showed women in Bajaur protesting against the recent military operation in the district. However, the video is old from a 2021 protest over the killing of a party activist. Security forces imposed a three-day curfew at 16 places in the district on July 29 and initiated an operation against militants in the areas. Scores of people, mostly youth and political activists, gathered at Shago Village Chowk to protest the operation. They alleged that a number of innocent people were killed and wounded during an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists. On July 30, a Pakhtun rights activist posted a video on X showing a crowd of burqa-clad women walking through an alley with some holding black flags. The caption of the post said: “Pashtun women have also stepped out of their homes, calling for peace in response to the Bajaur operation. The protest rally has begun. Across the entire Pashtun region, youth, elders,...

Four members of a family were injured when a mortar shell fell on a house in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Thursday, according to the police. Bajaur police spokesperson Israr Salarzai told Dawn.com: “The house of a citizen in Gohati Mamond was struck by a mortar shell, due to which four men were injured. “They were taken to the Lar Khalazo Tehsil Headquarters Hospital for medical assistance,” he said, adding that the condition of one of the injured people was critical. Earlier in the week, the Bajaur administration imposed a three-day curfew at 16 places in the district and initiated an operation against militants in the areas. Salarzai added that the curfew was lifted in the district after a two-day operation against the militants. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced on Wednesday that a series of jirgas will be convened from August 2 to decide on future steps on a wide array of concerns among the province’s residents. Bajaur district, previously a hotspot during the peak of the Tehreek-i-...

A labourer was killed while two others were hospitalised on Saturday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district after inhaling toxic gas in an under-construction water well they were working on. The incident occurred in the Dabgay Shamozo area of Utman Khel in Bajaur. Bajaur Rescue 1122 spokesperson Amjad Ali told Dawn.com, “Three labourers were digging a water well in the Dabgay Shamozo area when they suddenly fell unconscious.” He said the Rescue 1122 team responded to the emergency and moved the labourers to the District Headquarters Hospital Bajaur in Khar. He said one of the labourers was declared dead by the doctors in the hospital emergency department while the remaining two were in critical condition. Last month, five men, including a sanitation worker and two brothers, died after inhaling toxic gases in an underground water tank in Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi.

BAJAUR - Shooting near the Khar Tehsil headquarters in Bajaur on Thursday claimed two lives including Awami National Party (ANP) leader Maulana Khan Zaib.

Awami National Party (ANP) politician Maulana Khan Zeb and a policeman were shot dead on Thursday by unidentified suspects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, according to the police. Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafiq told Dawn.com that the politician was shot dead in Shindai Mor while campaigning for the July 13 peace parade, adding that a policeman was also killed in the attack. “Three other people were injured in the shooting,” DPO Rafiq said. “This was a targeted killing carried out by unidentified shooters on motorcycles.” DPO Rafiq added that evidence had been collected from the crime scene. Khan Zeb was a member of the ANP’s central cabinet and held the office of secretary of ulema affairs, according to the party website. ANP President Senator Aimal Wali Khan issued a statement condemning the killing, stating that the party would file a first information report against the state. “State institutions are complicit in this incident because they have maintained criminal silence,” the A...