Crossfire and airstrikes along the disputed Durand Line have exacted a heavy price: 31 Pashtuns killed in 48 hours. Pakistan’s February 20-21 nocturnal raids into Nangarhar’s Bisud area were billed as TTP takedowns, yet decimated a civilian enclave, slaying 17—including 11 kids and women. Independent verifiers and visuals depict pure domestic wreckage, bereft of terror infrastructure, with child victims shroud-clad for hasty rites.
Reciprocity struck Pakistan’s Tirah Valley via mortars on a civilian ride, ending five Pashtun lives (two children). Locals’ checkpoint vigil turned lethal under security gunfire: four dead, five hurt. This border-hopping carnage—from foreign bombs to domestic volleys—signals systemic perils.
Stats sobering: 168+ Pashtuns in Pakistan ops post-January 2025; 88 civilian fatalities from Afghan incursions since September 2025. Consistent threads—everyday folk in Pashtun pockets, terror-action facades, hits on homes/vehicles/gatherings/protests.
TTP’s Pashtun footprint prompts claims of grassroots aid, but foes indict it as profiling ploy: village battlefields, link-based ruins, populated strikes, foe-labeled objectors. Experts see security melting into tribal targeting.
1947’s Punjab-military grip sustains Pashtun plaints of overkill—troops, sieges, posts, ghosts, razings, blasts. Labeled institutional bias, the dual-nation tolls harden views of Pashtun zones as perpetual peril spots, forsaken for suspicion.