At least four teenagers were killed and two other people were injured when a mortar shell exploded in a field in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur area on Saturday, according to police officials.
State-run APP said the mortar shell was left behind by terrorists.
Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafiq told the media about the incident and said that the dead and injured were transported to Khar Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital.
“Initial reports suggest that a mortar shell exploded in the field, killing the young men,” he said, adding that the deceased ranged in age between 13 and 18.
Meanwhile, Nisar Baaz Khan, a member of the provincial assembly (MPA) from Bajaur, condemned the incident in a statement on social media and claimed that according to local residents, a quadcopter hit the village and killed innocent civilians.
“What crime had these innocent flower-like children committed? What purpose is being served by staining the earth with their innocent blood?” he was quoted as asking.
“The state institutions and provincial government have repeatedly claimed that various areas of Mamond (tehsil) have been cleared. If that is true, then on what grounds are drone strikes being conducted in these villages and settlements?”
The MPA questioned why operations are being carried out in the area when the authorities claim there are no terrorists there.
“Are the lives of our children so cheap that they can be taken so easily?”
He continued: “For decades, our people have been killed in the name of counter terrorism; their homes were destroyed and now innocent lives are being targeted once again.”
Separately, security forces killed 17 “India-sponsored” terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media affairs wing said on Saturday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted the IBO on the night between Friday and Saturday, on the “reported presence of khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij.”
The state uses the term Fitna al Khwarij to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
During the operation, “own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and resultantly, seventeen Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR statement said.
It added that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as [in the] killing of innocent civilians”.
The statement said a sanitisation operation was being conducted to “eliminate any other Indian-sponsored khwarji found in the area”.
The ISPR also reaffirmed the security forces’ determination to wipe out the menace of “Indian-sponsored terrorism” from the country.
President Asif Ali Zardari has congratulated the security forces on their successful operation in Lakki Marwat, according to a statement issued by his secretariat.
He paid tribute to the courage and sacrifices of the forces, saying “their efforts reflect the nation’s firm resolve to eradicate Indian proxy terrorism from Pakistan”.
“The complete elimination of Fitna al Khwarij and its networks is vital for lasting peace and stability in the country,” he added
President Zardari reaffirmed that the entire nation stands united with its valiant armed forces in the fight against terrorism.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the security forces for eliminating 17 Khwarij in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The prime minister prayed for the swift recovery of personnel injured during the security operation, PM Office Media Wing in a press release said.