'Reality Check For…': BJP's 'Pak Lovers' Jab At Congress After Tirah Valley Explosions

Last Updated:September 22, 2025, 19:08 IST

BJP IT cell head, Amit Malviya, in a post on social media claimed that the Pakistani air force is responsible for the "massacre" in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tirah Valley

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted purported pictures of the alleged air strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region's Tirah Valley on September 22. (Image: @amitmalviya/X)

The BJP on Monday targeted the Congress over the alleged aerial strikes in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkwa region.

Referring to Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s “felt at home" comment about Pakistan, the BJP called the Congress “Pak-premis" (Pakistan lovers). The party’s IT cell head, Amit Malviya, in a post on social media claimed that the Pakistani air force is responsible for the “massacre" in Tirah Valley.

Malviya claimed that the Pakistani air force dropped “8 bombs" on women and children due to the country’s “own Islamophobia". Calling it a “bloodbath", he said the Congress should remember this incident the next time it “sympathises" with Pakistan. He, however, did not mention that the explosions took place at a compound owned by the Pakistani Taliban.

“REALITY CHECK FOR ‘PAK-PREMIS’ Massacre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: At least 30 civilians killed in Pakistani Air Force airstrikes. Women and children among the dead in Matre Dara village, reduced to rubble after 8 bombs were dropped from JF-17 jets at 2am," Malviya said in a post on X. “This is Pakistan’s own Islamophobia—bombing its women and children, wiping out entire families in Tirah Valley."

The BJP leader called out former Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi – who he said “endorsed Rahul Gandhi" –  and Shoaib Akhtar – who he claimed was “dreaming of Gazwa-e-Hind" – for being silent about the incident. 

“And what do Sam Pitroda and Congress have to say? Is this the Pakistan they feel “at home" with? The Hindu-hating bigot Shahid Afridi, who endorsed Rahul Gandhi as his leader, and motor-mouth Shoaib Akhtar, dreaming of Gazwa-e-Hind, are silent today. Next time Congress sympathises with Pakistan, remember this bloodbath," he added in his post.

At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed and several others injured when explosive materials stored at a compound owned by the Pakistani Taliban exploded in the northwest part of the country.

According to the police, the incident took place in Tirah Valley’s Matur Dara area in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. The local administration denied the rumours about aerial strikes by the Pakistani fighter jets on the compound, saying the explosives used in bomb making exploded.

The residents, however, claimed that the compound was hit by air strikes. The compound had been home to a large number of local militant leaders and operatives, including dozens of Afghan fighters. It was regarded as a hub for the production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and sniper training.

Several leaders from Pakistan’s opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have also alleged that a bombing campaign was being carried out by the air force jets in the Tirah Valley.

The PTI has shared disturbing images and videos of the incident site showing dead bodies, including those of children, lying around.

Member Provincial Assembly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Ghani Afridi accused the state of targeting its own people and called it “an open crime against humanity".

“If in Tirah Akakhel, our own protectors have mercilessly martyred innocent children, youth, and women, staining the earth with blood. This is an open crime against humanity. We plead with the world, international media, and human rights organisations: just as you raise your voice for Gaza, Palestine, raise it for us too," he wrote on X.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded an inquiry into the incident. It said citizens of a nation are entitled to the right to live, which Pakistan has failed to protect.

“HRCP is deeply shocked to learn that a number of civilians, including children, have been killed, allegedly as a result of aerial bombing in Tirah, Khyber district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We demand that the authorities carry out an immediate and impartial inquiry into the incident and hold to account those responsible. The state is constitutionally bound to protect all civilians’ right to life, which it has repeatedly failed to secure," the commission said in a post on X.

(With agency inputs)

News politics 'Reality Check For…': BJP's 'Pak Lovers' Jab At Congress After Tirah Valley Explosions

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