16 dead as tribal clashes flare up after Kurram ambush
Photo: FILE
Following a bloodbath in Kurram district that claimed 43 lives, the tribal belt has come under the grip of fierce clashes, leaving 16 dead and 25 injured.
Given the latest wave of violence, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government sprang into action and sent a delegation to the area to hold dialogues with the conflicting parties.
In the ensuing firing among various tribes, including Alizai, Bagan, Balishkhel, Kharl Kali, and Maqbal, opponents are targeting each other with automatic and heavy weapons.
The authorities have imposed a curfew and suspended mobile phone services in the remote mountainous terrain. Moreover, businesses and schools remained closed as tensions prevailed in the area.
In a bid to quell the violence, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has initiated dialogues with the warring tribes. K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said the government was engaging all parties for a peaceful and durable solution to the Kurram issue under his supervision.
A government delegation visited Kurram district on the advice of the CM and presented its initial report to him.
The delegation, comprising Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam, CM's Adviser Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, IG Police Akhtar Hayat Khan, and others, held a meeting with the elders of one of the conflicting parties in Parachinar and sought their recommendations for a durable solution to the conflict.
The delegation will meet the other party on Sunday (today) and seek their recommendations.
K-P CM Gandapur termed the ambush on the passengers' convoy as condemnable, adding that the government shares the grief of the aggrieved families and will try to prevent such incidents from reoccurring.
He said the government will evolve its strategy in light of the recommendations of area elders, and the just demands of the warring parties will be fulfilled.
Ali Amin Gandapur said the ceasefire was indispensable in resolving the conflict and appealed to the warring tribes to agree to a ceasefire in order to resolve the issue.
He vowed to find a peaceful solution through a Jirga in line with Pashtun traditions.
One of the delegation members, K-P Law Minister Aftab Alam, told the media that the K-P government would form a high-powered commission to resolve the issue once and for all.
He said the commission would be constituted with the consent of the warring tribes, as they term all past commissions and committees futile. He asserted that it was not a sectarian issue but a land dispute.
AFP quoted an official as saying that at least 32 people were killed and 47 wounded in clashes in northwest Pakistan.
"Fighting between Shiite and Sunni communities continues at multiple locations. According to the latest reports, 32 people have been killed," a senior administrative official told AFP on condition of anonymity on Saturday.
On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys of people travelling with police escort in Kurram, killing 43 while 11 wounded are still in "critical condition", officials told AFP.
In retaliation attack on Friday evening, the rival party attacked several locations in the Kurram district.
"Around 7 pm (1400 GMT), a group of enraged individuals attacked the Bagan Bazaar," a senior police officer stationed in Kurram told AFP.
"After firing, they set the entire market ablaze and entered nearby homes, pouring petrol and setting them on fire. Initial reports suggest over 300 shops and more than 100 houses have been burned," he said.
Locals "also fired back at the attackers", he added.
Javedullah Mehsud, a senior official in Kurram said there were "efforts to restore peace ... (through) the deployment of security forces" and with the help of "local elders".
With additional input from AFP