Thaw in Parachinar

A week-long ceasefire in Kurram district provides relief after deadly sectarian violence.

A week-long ceasefire agreed between warring factions in the volatile Kurram district of K-P is a welcome breakthrough. Though not the first of its kind, this silencing of guns has come after an unprecedented ambush that left dozens dead and scores critically injured over the weekend, and led to retaliatory attacks across the former tribal belt igniting fears of an all-out sectarian backlash. The deal brokered by the K-P government has underscored the need for finding a permanent solution to land disputes in the region that possess the potential to explode in abrupt communal clashes. The recent attack is also seen as part of vendetta against a particular community, and in the absence of a perpetual settlement the snowball of bloodshed and venom may continue for years.

The agreement luckily enough has come 48 hours after the carnage, and provides some solace in burying the dead and making efforts for saving the lives of the injured. Intermittent firing from various locations after the killings, including Bagan, Alizai, Baleechkhel and Kharkalay, as well as Kanj Alizai and Maqbal, had created a war-like scenario, severing the entire district from the rest of the country. Internet and other communication avenues are still blocked, causing problems in commutation as well as access to medical aid. The thaw reached must provide the security forces an opportunity in disaster to address the loopholes, and come out of the apathy by beefing cooperation among army, police and local administration. Such killings in Parachinar on a regular basis over the period of years is a security lapse, and cannot be condoned.

As an immediate damage-control measure, the authorities must make the findings of the land commission public, and invite opinion from the masses by convening a grand Jirga. This modus operandi of local consultation is a blessing in disguise in conventional societies, and it's high time the institution was strengthened and the locals empowered to decide over their destiny. Parachinar had enough of administrative tweaking, and now is the time for a consensual solution.