Aerial bombing kills 73 civilian in Pakistan’s tribal area: Report

ISLAMABAD: As many as 73 civilians were killed when Pakistan army jet bombed a remote village in tribal region of Khyber Agency, local media reported on Wednesday.

Media reports said quoting an official that the incident took place on Saturday but news was slow in being reported because of the inaccessibility of the region. The jet was involved in operations against Taliban militants in the nearby Orakzai tribal region.

The report further revealed that quoting anonymous official sources that authorities have reportedly already paid compensation to families of victims.

The military insists most of those killed were militants, but local sources say many civilians have also been killed. Many people have died in air strikes in the area over the past 18 months.

When contacted by this correspondent on Monday early morning, a spokesperson of ISPR Maj Gen Athar Abbas denied such reports rather said that those killed in the Pakistan army air strike were attacked because it had intelligence that militants were gathering at the site. He said that initial information suggested that the jet had strayed away from the conflict zone and mistook the village for a militant compound.

Local as well as International media person were prevented by police from interviewing the injured at the Hayatabad medical complex in Peshawar. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan military, backed with its air force is busy in quelling militants from Pakistan’s tribal area bordering Afghanistan. The army regularly reports killing militants in air strikes, but consistently denies it is responsible for civilian deaths.