PESHAWAR: Members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday criticised around two dozen civilian killings in the Tirah area of Khyber tribal district and said that the residents were fast becoming alienated due to such incidents.

The assembly met with Mohammad Anwar Khan from the panel of chairpersons in the chair.

The chair gave the floor to lawmakers to discuss the post-flood situation in the province.

MPA from Kohat Shafiullah Jan highlighted Monday’s Tirah incident, which left 24 people dead.

He equated the situation in Tirah with Gaza’s and said that the area was subjected to ‘state terrorism’.

Lawmaker says Peshawar corps commander, police chief should be called to house

The lawmaker questioned under what law, Tirah was bombarded. He wondered how those using technology couldn’t differentiate between terrorists and the civilian population.

Mr Jan said that innocent people were targeted in Tirah, so the house should be informed about the law under which the attack was carried out.

He said that issues could be resolved through dialogue only and PTI founder Imran Khan also advocated for it.

The MPA also criticised federal minister Khawaja Asif and Hanif Abbasi for declaring Afghanistan an “enemy country” and said that both the ministers were ignorant about the geography of the province and its relations with people on the other side of the Durand Line.

He demanded that Peshawar’s corps commander and police chief be called to the house for explanation over the Tirah attack.

MPA from Swat Dr Amjad Ali insisted that fighter jets bombed the area.

He alleged that the state was paddling the “terrorist narrative”. He wondered how a five-month-old child could be a terrorist.

“Some months ago, nine persons from my constituency were killed in a similar manner in the Katlang area of Mardan district. When I highlighted the issue, authorities threatened me and asked me to ‘shut up’ through PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and other party representatives,” he said.

The lawmaker, however, said that as he didn’t keep quiet on the matter, the National Accountability Bureau started issuing notices to him, while the Federal Investigation Agency and National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency lodged cases against him.

“In this way, neither peace can be restored nor can Pakhtuns be eliminated,” he said.

Minister for livestock Fazal Hakeem Khan said that KP had been witnessing bloodshed since 2007-08, with the latest Tirah civilian killings being heartbreaking.

He said that in the past, missiles targeted civilians in the Katlang area and he went to the local mountains to meet the children orphaned by the attack.

The minister said whosoever spoke about those issues, they’re branded rebels.

He said they had rebelled against those who refused to submit to the Constitution and impose their will on people at gunpoint.

The chair said that the house’s committee on law and order with the speaker as its head would hold its meeting soon to discuss the security situation in the province.

He said that law and order was the foremost issue of the province.

When the chair gave the floor to MPA Ajab Gul, opposition members pointed out a lack of quorum in the house.

The headcount showed 25 members present in the house.

The chair ordered the ringing of the bells for two minutes and announced a prayer break. However, as the session resumed, the quorum continued to be lacking, leading to the adjournment of the session until Oct 28.

On a point of order, MPA from Torghar district Laiq Mohammad Khan highlighted the illegal tree felling in his district and alleged that the culprits and the relevant government officials were in cahoots on the matter.

He urged the chair to direct the anti-corruption establishment to investigate the issue.

Special assistant to the chief minister on forestry and environment Pir Musawir assured the lawmaker of a proper investigation.

The chair later referred the matter to the house’s relevant standing committee for discussion and recommendations.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2025