Earlier, a remote village in the North Waziristan area of Pakistan fell into shambles. Despite the government-imposed strict curfew and the extreme protection promised by the government for the region, a suicide car bomber managed to successfully target a convoy in the area which was carrying bomb disposal personnel of the Pakistan Army. As per reports, between 8 and 16 soldiers were martyred and dozens of civilians were wounded.
Just around noon on 28 June 2025, during a curfew that was enforced for military operations, a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden vehicle crashed into a military convoy. This incident took place in Khadki Market near Mir Ali town towards North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.
The perpetrators are believed to be a faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, specifically the Hafiz Gul Bahadur wing. The TTP are known to carry out attacks against the military forces of the state to destabilise the region, and Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of nurturing and funding these terrorist groups, a claim which Kabul strongly denies.
Now, to understand the full scope of the attack, we need to recognise the amount of pressure the citizens living in the area are under and what the response to this attack could do to them.
Reportedly,the civilians in the area are already under lock and key, having to live under strict curfew and constant military scrutiny and “protection”. We have seen historically how this increased tension in such areas and militarisation has led to an increase in sexual violence and general violence against civilians, whether that be on purpose or as a mistake of the army. This is the outcome for the people living in the area and this can lead to further extremism in the region, as seen historically.
This attack and the response of the government just shows how the government, with all its plans to protect its citizens, still fails and how it is always the civilians who are left to suffer.
