00:00 At least 11 labourers have been killed in an attack in Pakistan's northwestern tribal
00:08 region.
00:09 Government officials said that an improvised explosive device, or IED, exploded under their
00:14 vehicle.
00:16 The attack in north Waziristan's Shawal Valley, which is 300 km southwest of the capital Islamabad,
00:22 was confirmed by Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Qaqar in a post on X.
00:27 His post read, "Heartbreaking to know about the terrorist attack in north Waziristan which
00:31 claimed the lives of 11 innocent labourers.
00:34 Strongly condemn this senseless act of violence and stand in solidarity with the families
00:39 affected."
00:41 Security and police officials in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said that a suspected
00:45 IED detonated tearing through a truck carrying the workers to a construction project in the
00:50 Waziristan district near the Afghan border.
00:52 Deputy Commissioner of North Waziristan Rehan Khattak said that the labourers were working
00:57 at an army post that is under construction.
01:00 No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
01:03 Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by armed groups since last year when a ceasefire
01:07 between the outlawed group Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, and the government
01:13 broke down.
01:14 Other armed groups, including ISIL, have also claimed responsibility for some attacks, including
01:19 a large blast at a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bajor district held by a religious
01:24 group last month that killed 63.
01:26 The Islamic State in Khurasan province, or ISKP or ISIS-K, was said to be behind the
01:31 attack.
01:32 Islamabad has blamed Kabul for a string of deadly attacks in Pakistan's tribal region
01:36 bordering Afghanistan.
01:38 Top Pakistani officials accused the Taliban administration of not doing enough to control
01:42 the movement of armed groups from crossing the porous border.
01:45 However, the Taliban administration has rejected the Pakistani allegations.
01:50 According to reports, more than 300 attacks have hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this
01:54 year alone, with a vast majority of them claimed by the TTP.
01:58 The TTP was founded in 2007 and is ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, but it appears
02:03 to operate independently.
02:05 Among its many demands, the Pakistan Taliban seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic laws,
02:09 the release of its members in government custody, and a reduced Pakistani military presence
02:14 in parts of the tribal regions along the Afghan border.
02:17 -
Comments