Witnesses narrate macabre details

PESHAWAR:

The death toll from Thursday's roadside massacre in the Kurram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) rose to 42 on Friday as more details of the macabre incident emerged, while thousands of people took to the streets in various cities to condemn the terrorist assault on civilians.

Eyewitnesses and relatives recounted the harrowing events in Mandori, Lower Kurram, where gunmen ambushed passenger convoys escorted by police traveling between Peshawar and Parachinar, the district's main town.

"Forty-two people were killed in the attack, and that officers are investigating to determine who was behind it," K-P Law Minister Aftab Alam said. However, an AFP report put the death toll at 43, while the BBC said 44 people were killed. The reports said that 11 injured people were still in critical condition.

In Parachinar, thousands participated in a sit-in, while hundreds attended the funerals of the victims, a local resident told AFP. "Following the funerals, the youth gathered, chanted slogans against the government, and marched toward a nearby security checkpoint," he added.

"A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remained completely closed, with all traffic suspended," local officials said. Mobile signal across the district was shut down for several hours, according to an official.

Meanwhile, several witness accounts of the incident emerged on Friday. "There were two convoys of passenger vehicles, one carrying passengers from Peshawar to Parachinar and another from Parachinar to Peshawar, when armed men opened fire on them," Parachinar resident Ziarat Hussain told Reuters.

An eyewitness, Mir Hussain, said that he saw four gunmen emerging from a vehicle and opening fire on buses and cars. "I think other people were also firing at the convoy from nearby open farm field," he said, according to a CNN report.

"The firing continued for about 40 minutes," Hussain said, adding that he hid until the attackers fled. "I heard cries of women, and people were shouting for the help," he said. It was the saddest day in Kurram's history, said Ibne Ali Bangash, who lost one of his relatives, the CNN report added.

Baqir Haideri, a local leader, denounced the assault and said the death toll was likely to rise. He accused local authorities of not providing adequate security for the convoy of more than 100 vehicles despite fears of possible attacks by militants.

Talking to BBC, Danish Tori, chairman of the Parachinar Youth Council, recalled the moment when the shooting began and the passengers were attacked on the road. The passenger coach he was travelling in had only two men and all the others were women. He was travelling in the front seat, he said.

"When we reached Mandori, the convoy vehicles coming from Peshawar to Parachinar had also reached there. And within a few moments, heavy firing started," the report quoted Tori as saying. He added that many passengers including him hid in the dense trees near a nearby drain.

"I was carrying an eight-year-old girl to take her to a safety, but in the meantime, a bullet hit the girl and she died in my arms, Tori said. "Until the police arrived, the attackers continued to desecrate the bodies. We could not understand what was happening, where the bullets and rockets were being fired from."

According to Tori, the firing continued for about an hour and all kinds of light and heavy weapons were used. "We were terrified and it seemed that a bullet or a rocket would finish us off. We quickly got the women out of the vehicle and crossed a large drain and hid behind nearby trees."

Tori said that he managed to save 10 to 12 women, but "I couldn't save the innocent girl who died in my arms". The police and other officials arrived after about an hour, and started taking those who had survived to a nearby police check post.

Among the deceased were the people from different sections of society, including a journalist. According to the BBC, Rizwan Hussain, a resident of Parachinar, narrated his frantic search for his cousin, Janan Hussain, who was in the ill-fated convoy.

Rizwan Hussain spent the whole day searching for his cousin, sometimes in the hospital, sometimes in the media offices, and sometimes in the DC office, but he did not see Janan Hussain's name in any list, while his phone remained unanswered.

Rizwan Hussain said that the entire family was worried that there was no information about Janan Hussain's whereabouts and then suddenly after 11pm, Janan's body arrived at the house and there was chaos. He got married about two years ago but he had no children.

Talking to the BBC, Rizwan Hussain and local journalist Ali Afzal Afzal said that Janan had gone to Malaysia a week ago. He was injured in an explosion seven years ago due to which he lost one of his legs and moved with the help of an artificial leg.

Ali Ghulam, uncle of a taxi driver Gulfam, said that his nephew was injured in the attack along with his four companions and died later. "Gulfam's house is close to mine. His family comprised three young sons and two daughters. They were a very poor family, but Gulfam was a very cheerful person." (AGENCIES WITH INPUTS FROM NEWS DESK)