RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s military has rejected the “unfounded and misleading” allegations regarding a tragic incident in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which civilians lost their lives.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said following a tragic incident on 19 May 2025 in the area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan district, which regrettably resulted in civilian casualties, unfounded and misleading allegations have been circulated by certain quarters, falsely implicating Pakistan’s security forces.
“These claims are entirely baseless and are part of a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the security forces’ steadfast efforts in the ongoing counterterrorism operations,” the ISPR statement said.
The military’s media wing said that a comprehensive investigation had been launched immediately after the attack. It said, according to initial findings, the incident was orchestrated and executed by Indian-sponsored Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as Fitna Al Khwarij.
“It is evident that these elements—acting at the behest of their Indian Masters – continue to exploit civilian areas and vulnerable populations as shields to conduct their reprehensible acts of terrorism,” said the statement.
ISPR said such tactics aim to unsuccessfully sow discord between the local population and the security forces, who together remain resolute to uproot the menace of terrorism.
“The security forces reaffirm their commitment to ensuring that the perpetrators of this inhuman act are brought to justice,” the statement added.
India’s involvement in sponsoring terrorists
Earlier this month, seven Pakistani soldiers were martyred in a blast from an improvised explosive device planted by the “Indian proxy” terrorist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in Kacchi district.
“Nefarious designs of India and its proxies operating on Pakistani soil will be defeated by the valiant security forces, law enforcement agencies, and the brave nation of Pakistan,” the ISPR had said.
Last month, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused India of activating its “assets” to intensify terrorist attacks in Pakistan, presenting “irrefutable evidence” of Indian state-sponsored terrorism, directed by the Indian military personnel.
“Post-Pahalgam, because of the designs of terrorism that they have, they tasked all their assets, the terrorists operating in Balochistan, and we have credible intelligence for that, the Fitna-al-Khawarij and the independent terrorist cells … to increase their activity,” he had said, using the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
Militant violence and security operations intensified in March, with the number of militant attacks surpassing 100 for the first time since November 2014, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
