‘Deeply saddened’ by killing of civilians in bombing in Tirah Valley: Imran Khan

Lahore: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing of civilians in the bombing in Tirah Valley, asserting that such actions will only fuel more terrorism.

Thirty people, including women and children, were killed in airstrikes in Tirah Valley on Monday.

A local police officer, however, claimed that a bomb-making material stored at a compound run by the Pakistan Taliban exploded, killing militants and civilians.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent children, women, and ordinary civilians in the bombing of Tirah Valley,” Khan said in a post on X.

Khan said he has repeatedly conveyed the message that military operations should not be carried out

in these areas, nor should innocent lives be sacrificed under the pretext of ‘collateral damage” because such actions only fuel more terrorism.

“Sadly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has fallen into the military establishment’s trap on this matter,” Khan added.

Khan, the 72-year-old patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf who has been in jail for over two years in multiple cases, said the example of Afghanistan is before everyone.

“During our tenure (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government), Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told us that military operations only increase terrorism because innocent people are killed.

Before him, Hamid Karzai had told Americans the same thing - that whenever operations are conducted, innocent lives are lost, and 90 per cent of those affected eventually align themselves with the Taliban, simply as a way of expressing their grief and anger,” he said.

Khan said his government had worked to improve relations with Afghanistan, which also brought peace to the tribal areas. But as soon as Asim Munir became army chief, he tried to disrupt this environment.

“Behind Munir’s actions lie two objectives - to make the PTI government in KP unpopular and please anti-Taliban lobbies in the West to create a perception that Asim Munir is fighting a war against terrorism,” he said.

Khan further said Munir is travelling across the world, but if he truly exercised wisdom, his first step should have been to go to Afghanistan and hold talks.

“For lasting peace in the tribal areas and in the region, it is essential that four stakeholders - the Afghan government, the Pakistani

government, and the tribal and Afghan people - sit together and resolve issues through dialogue. Only then can the path to peace be found and further losses be prevented,” he said.

Regarding cutting a deal with the establishment, Khan said he was

repeatedly offered a deal and told that if he left the country or remained silent, all cases against him would be withdrawn.agencies