A senseless act of violence in a deteriorating security region.
The north-west of Pakistan, border with Afghanistan, is shaken by a bomb attack.
At least eleven people died, workers building a military post, when a homemade bomb exploded on their bus on Saturday night.
Local authorities, through the voice of Rehman Gul Khattak, a senior official in North Waziristan, confirmed the attack and the resulting tragedy. Amir Muhammad Khan, a senior regional police official, also confirmed the explosion and the number of casualties.
Acting Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar strongly condemned this terrorist act, expressing his solidarity with the families affected by this tragedy.
Security context and Taliban involvement
North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal area in northwest Pakistan, was the site of numerous military operations against insurgents affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
Since the return to power of the Taliban in Kabul in August 2021, Pakistan has experienced a deterioration in its security situation, particularly in the border regions of Afghanistan.
Pakistani authorities claim that some of these attacks are planned from Afghan soil, which Kabul denies.
Reaction of the Taliban and terrorist groups
Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has warned against any attack outside Afghanistan’s borders, stressing that fighting outside Afghanistan is not a religiously sanctioned jihad, but an illicit war.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a faction of the Taliban, has carried out a series of attacks against security officials in Pakistan, including police officers.
The Islamic State (IS) group also has an active presence in the region, as evidenced by the attack on a rally of the conservative religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), claimed by the Pakistani branch of the ‘EI.
These terrorist acts add to the security complexity of the region and to the challenge of countering terrorism and violent extremism.
