Kurram’s wounded lie in wait for help

Despite religious scholars negotiating a ceasefire between warring Shia and Sunni tribesmen over a land dispute in Kurram district, it seems both sides are trying to undermine the peace process by creating hurdles for each other.

For example, neither is willing to let the other take the injured from their side of the territory to hospitals of Kohat or Peshawar for the best possible treatment, local sources told The Express Tribune Peshawar office over the phone. The trenches are still occupied by tribesmen from both sides. Such activity is taking place amid fears that both sides are still heavily armed.

Boshera was the worst affected region of Kurram tribal district, with intense gunbattles continuing since Wednesday night of the previous week.

Clashes echo in assembly

The Kurram clashes echoed many miles away in the K-P Assembly, and legislators demanded concrete measures to prevent such confrontations in future.

Legislators such as Ali Hadi shared concerns that despite a ceasefire, the government failed to establish its writ on the ground. He pointed out that roads leading to major cities were still blocked, while reports were emerging of skirmishes between the warring tribesmen. He also demanded that helicopters be provided for the evacuation of the wounded and sought a permanent solution to the issue.

Meanwhile, the K-P law minister said that the Kurram land dispute was nothing new in the district. He believed the battles were based on sectarian issues. The minister pointed out that the K-P chief minister had taken notice of the violence, and a truce was in place. He also claimed that trenches had been cleared from the area.

He blamed certain miscreants for trying to escalate the situation once again, just as the government was making efforts to evacuate wounded patient from the area. " If needed, we will provide helicopters services to the most needed patients," the minister said in reply to an answer.

Till Monday night, both sides were blatantly violating the ceasefire while the death toll from six days of fighting rose to 44.

According to Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah, a ceasefire was in place in Boshera, while the administration, forces and peace jirga were putting their best foot forward to enforce it in other areas. Meanwhile, the police and administration had taken over some bunkers which were being used by the tribespeople, to attack one other in Kohat and Hangu.

Roads to major cities other parts of the country remained blocked as locals protested against the violence and wanted to see an immediate end to the attacks.

As of Sunday night, the death toll from clashes between the warring Shia and Sunni tribespeople hit 36 with 145 wounded. The jirga managed to negotiate a ceasefire to end the gun battles, but the piling casualties of the next day proved that not all sides were on the same page.