June 21, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
In yet another reported incident of a quadcopter drone attack, one child was killed and five others, aged between five and 11 years, were injured in Makin Tehsil, Upper South Waziristan.
According to locals, the incident occurred in Dashka village, where children were playing outside a local shop near the school when the drone descended very low. Upon seeing it, the children began chasing the drone, which suddenly dropped ammunition on them, killing one and injuring the others.
Relief turns into havoc
Makin is a cool, green, and beautiful area in Upper South Waziristan where people from the adjacent districts of Tank and D.I. Khan come to escape the summer heat. These children were also there to seek relief from the scorching temperatures and enjoy Dashka’s cool breeze, but they became collateral damage in the ongoing two-decade-long conflict in the region.
Alamzaib Khan Mahsud, a local human rights activist and founding member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) from Upper South Waziristan spoke to Voicepk.
“The incident took place at around 11 a.m. when the children were playing outside the shop. After the attack, security forces also started firing in the area,” he said. Alamzaib is also known for documenting missing persons and landmine victims. “These drones are being used by security forces. They were previously used only for surveillance and even had built-in speakers to talk to people. But for the past year, these small drones have also been carrying mortar ammunition, flying very low, and often hitting the wrong targets,” he added.
Enraged public
Meanwhile locals staged a protest against the drone strike and later buried the deceased. The protest was eventually dissolved, and a local jirga was scheduled for June 23 to decide on a response to the incident.
This is the tenth such attack in the past month, killing 12 people and injuring more than 60—mostly children. Data shows that among the injured, 15 are women, 15 are male children, one is a female child, and the rest are adults over 18.
The District Police Officer (DPO) of Upper South Waziristan confirmed the incident and told Voicepk that full security was provided for the protest. The injured were shifted to CMH Razmak. He added that all necessary support was being provided, although no formal complaint had been filed so far.
Asif Khan, the area’s Member of the Provincial Assembly, also condemned the incident. He said authorities must clarify the way forward to prevent future attacks. “How long will we keep enduring this and giving people false assurances about peace? These drone attack policies are detaching our people from the state—they must be changed. The government should prioritize policies of stability and peace.”
He added that those responsible for this heinous crime must be brought to justice and the government should fully compensate the victims to ensure access to medical treatment.
This ongoing drone campaign is part of the military’s operation against militancy, which they regard as an effective tool.
Earlier in May, another drone strike in the Hurmaz area of North Waziristan killed four children. In response, locals staged an eight-day sit-in with the bodies of the victims, demanding justice. The protest ended after an agreement with the civil and military administration. Organizers of the Mir Ali sit-in said they were given a written assurance that drone strikes would not target civilians.
However, the military’s media wing, ISPR, issued a statement denying involvement and claiming that the attack was carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The TTP has not issued any statement about these incidents.
In a Facebook post, Zubair Khan Wazir, an MNA from the area, strongly condemned the latest attack. He said drone strikes targeting children cannot be justified under any law, morality, or humanity.
“Such actions not only violate human rights but also erode the trust between the state and its people. We believe peace is essential, but using it as a pretext to target civilians, impose curfews, and deny constitutional rights is unacceptable.”
He called on the Government of Pakistan, defense institutions, and human rights organizations to investigate the incident immediately and ban unnecessary curfews, search operations, and drone strikes.