The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) has accused Pakistan armed forces of carrying out an airstrike on the village of Shadlo Metra in the Tirah Valley, Khyber district, claiming that at least 23 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed. PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen said two houses were destroyed and that bodies were still being recovered from the rubble.
Pashteen alleged that the military was using counter-terrorism operations as a pretext to target Pashtun communities while simultaneously exploiting the natural resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He criticised the centralisation of hydropower revenues in Lahore and restrictions on the sale of wheat to the province, framing these as evidence of systemic discrimination.
He further accused senior military figures of both creating and arming militant groups, then using subsequent violence as justification for intensified operations in Pashtun areas. Such policies, he argued, perpetuate cycles of conflict, resource extraction and repression.
The PTM leader said the organisation had dispatched its representatives to Tirah and pledged to support local communities in resisting what he described as oppression. He urged Pashtuns, particularly students, to unite and raise their voices against the violence.
Pakistani authorities have not immediately commented on the allegations.