Road closures cause hardships in Kurram

Residents struggle amid shortages of essentials

DI KHAN:

The closure of roads in the Kurram tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has left the area without food, medicines and other essential commodities.

All exit and entry roads in the district are closed for 16 days.

On Friday another cancer patient lost his life as his family failed to transport him to Peshawar.

Local residents told The Express Tribune that a 28-year-old engineer Karar Hussain passed away due to lack of medical treatment in the district and closure of roads.

The death toll from lack of medical treatment in the past week has risen to three.

According to sources, the tribal district of Kurram is faced with rapidly deteriorating law and order situation, leading to the closure of main highway connecting Parachinar to Peshawar.

All roads remain closed for the past two weeks, as a result patients could not be transported to hospitals in Peshawar and medicines are also not available locally.

Police and hospital sources confirmed that Karar Hussain, a cancer patient and a resident of the Ziran village, died due to inaccessibility to the hospital for chemotherapy in Peshawar.

Dilawar Hussain, brother of the deceased, said that the blocked roads took the life of Karar, who was also a top student at Peshawar Model School and College.

Last week, a six-year-old boy named Syed Shah Hussain also lost his life due to lack of treatment.

According to Medical Superintendent Parachinar Hospital, Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, the shifting of critical patients to Peshawar has become challenging, leading to various issues, while lack of oxygen in the hospital is also a cause of concern. Tribal leader Jalal Bangash revealed that the blocked roads have caused severe shortages of fuel, food, and medicine in the area, resulting in hardship.

Another local leader Mahmood Ali Jan added that 3G and 4G services also remained suspended for the past three weeks, making it difficult for students to attend online classes.

It may be mentioned here that on October 12, roads were closed after a firing incident on a government convoy, which claimed 15 lives.