Leading human rights organisations today strongly condemned the recent brutal massacre of innocent Pashtoon civilians in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The condemnation came after the Pakistani Air Force on Monday dropped eight bombs on the Pashtun-majority village of Matre Dara in Tirah valley of KP, killing more than 30 people, including several women and children, and critically injuring many others. In a statement, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said, it is the fundamental duty of any state to protect its citizens. Yet, in Pakistan, the state itself has become the perpetrator of violence, turning its weapons against its own people.

Instead of ensuring safety, it wages war on the very populations it is meant to safeguard. The BYC asserted that Pakistan’s aggression is intensifying, perpetuating cycles of pain, oppression, and genocide. Condemning the military strikes, another human rights body, Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ), stated that Pakistan’s continued use of indiscriminate bombings and drone strikes from K-P to Balochistan represents a clear violation of international law and human rights. The BVJ urged the United Nations, international human rights bodies, and the global community to urgently intervene, stressing that independent investigations must be launched, and those responsible must be held accountable.