Seven lives lost as protest turns violent in Tirah
• Unruly mob sets fire to excavator, tries to force open gates of garrison; several hurt as security men fire to disperse crowd
• Security officials and KP govt announce compensation for victims
• 2 Chitral Scouts martyred in clash near Afghan border
KHYBER: A protest over the killing of a minor girl in Tirah took a turn for the worse on Sunday, as seven people were shot after a demonstration outside a military installation took a violent turn, eye-witnesses and sources told Dawn.
Following the incident, security officials met with tribal elders and announced compensation for the victims, assuring that medical treatment would be provided to the injured. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced separate compensation for the deceased and injured.
Hundreds of tribesmen had brought the body of a girl, who they claimed was killed in a mortar strike in the Darbar locality of Peer Mela in Zakhakhel a day earlier, to the Brigade Headquarters in Bagh-Maidan Markaz early on Sunday morning.
Sources and eye-witnesses said the situation turned violent when an angry mob, comprising mostly young men, ignored calls by local elders to remain calm.
They first torched an excavator parked outside Brigade Headquarters, and then tried to force open the garrison’s main gate.
Security personnel guarding the installation reportedly opened fire to control the crowd, according to sources.
At least six protesters were killed and seventeen others received bullet injuries, sources said.
There was no official statement from the local administration or the military about the mortar strike, or Sunday’s killings.
Videos circulating on social media showed an excavator on fire. Some protesters were also seen pelting stones at the Brigade Headquarters while trying to forcibly open the main gate. In the footage, protesters could be seen running for cover as gunshots rang out.
The injured were shifted to the Frontier Corps Hospital in Shah Kas Jamrud, Dogra hospital in Bara and Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.
One of the injured is said to be in critical condition.
Security officials meet tribal elders
As the situation became tense, a delegation of Tirah elders held a series of meetings with security officials at Brigade Headquarters.
Subsequently, the protesters dispersed following the intervention of elders.
Security officials said the local sector commander met with elders in Tirah and assured them of his full support in meeting their legitimate demands.
Officials also expressed their sympathies with the relatives of those who had lost their lives on Sunday, sources told Dawn.
On the elders’ demand, security forces announced compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured.
A statement issued from the KP chief minister’s secretariat said the provincial government was grieved over the loss of lives in Tirah.
The provincial government will give Rs10 million to the deceased and Rs2.5m to the injured.
The statement added the provincial government was committed to sustainable peace, mutual respect and public safety. The KP government had called a jirga comprising tribal elders and public representatives to address their issues.
“The district administration and institutions have been directed to strengthen communication with the public and maintain law and order situation,” the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.
Protest
Later, MNA Iqbal Afridi from NA-27 Khyber and MPA Abdul Ghani, along with their supporters, held a protest at Bab-i-Khyber in Jamrud against Sunday’s incident.
They demanded a transparent judicial enquiry into the incident along with adequate compensation for the victims.
The lawmakers opposed the military operation in Tirah valley and demanded peace without displacing the locals.
Meanwhile, residents in Peer Mela have claimed mortar shelling by security forces has so far killed at least three persons during the last ten days.
They claimed mortars were being fired as security forces conducted operations against armed militant groups in Zakhakhel, Shalobar, Adakhel and Malakdin Khel localities.
Security officials martyred
Separately, two security personnel embraced martyrdom in an exchange of fire with militants in the Arsoon village of Chitral, which borders Afghanistan, on Sunday morning.
Official sources told Dawn that forces retaliated against the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by militants.
Five personnel were also injured in the exchange.
According to the official sources, security forces inflicted heavy casualties on militants and forced them to pull back from their village.
Umer Farooq in Peshawar and Zahiruddin in Chitral also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2025