KHYBER: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has declared as ‘martyrs’ those who lost their lives in a mysterious incident in Tirah on Monday.

During a visit to Bara on Wednesday, he said those who lost their lives were not terrorists and instead ‘martyrs’.

Police officials had earlier insisted that the deaths were caused due to an explosion inside a compound of houses where some local commanders of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had established a bomb manufacturing unit and had stockpiled huge quantity of explosives.

They also said that at least eight militants were also among the dead inside the house among some ordinary tribesmen.

The CM offered fateha for all the deceased and again announced a compensation of Rs10 million for each of the dead victims. The offer however was again refused by the heirs of the deceased along with the leaders of the protesters, who have established a camp in Bara since Monday.

He was also accompanied by chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, commissioner Peshawar Riaz Mehsud and DC Khyber Rao Bilal Shahid.

The chief minister also talked to the leaders of the protesters who were insisting for an apology by the chief minister, corps commander Peshawar and IGFC over the Tirah incident and an impartial inquiry into the alleged aerial bombing.

It was however decided to form a committee from the local political leaders and elders for holding talks with the top security officials on the Tirah issue and ongoing military operations.

Representatives of Bara Siyasi Ittehad told the CM on the occasion that they wanted restoration of lasting peace in Tirah coupled with a firm assurance about putting a stop to any collateral damage during the intelligence-based military operations.

Also in the day, a delegation of Bara Siyasi Ittehad met with IGFC in Peshawar and conveyed to him their strong reservations about the loss of ‘innocent’ lives during aerial strikes in Shadaly village of Tirah.

Sources among the delegation said that the IGFC gave them an assurance that the matter would be taken up with senior security officials and steps would be taken to prevent the occurrence of such unfortunate incidents in future.

However, there was no official word about the said meeting.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2025