PARACHINAR, Jan 4: Rival factions in lower Kurram have agreed to a ceasefire, but intermittent incidents of firing were reported from Teri Mingal’s Piwar village, killing three people and wounding eight others.
Sources said that elders of six tribes in Sadda announced the ceasefire on Friday evening and urged the warring factions to maintain peace. Similarly, the announcements were made in Balishkhel and Gherbina villages.
According to residents, two people were killed and three others were injured when a mortar shell hit an outpost in Piwar village near the Afghan border. In Balishkhel, a man received bullet injuries and died at a hospital in Parachinar.
Sporadic clashes took place in Jilamai and Tangai areas of lower Kurram and rival groups used rockets and missiles. There was no curfew relaxation in Parachinar town.
A 16-member jirga continued its efforts in Parachinar and Sadda to broker a ceasefire. Tribal elders said the political administration had been authorised to take action if any side violated the truce.
“The ball is now in the government’s court. We will support every government action aimed at restoring peace in the region,” said local elder Habib Khan.
The sources said that army and paramilitary troops were heading towards the area and taking positions at sensitive places.
Meanwhile, Political Agent Kurram Zaheerul Islam has strongly refuted reports about heavy casualties in sectarian clashes between rival sects in different parts of the region.
In a statement issued in Peshawar, he claimed that an undeclared ceasefire had been in place in the region since Thursday afternoon and not a single shot had been fired anywhere.
It was a quiet night and the situation was under control, he added.
A spokesman of the Fata Secretariat also said in a statement that the situation in the region was under control and no major fighting or clashes had taken place over the past two to three days.
“However, sporadic incidents of firing took place in Sadda, Balish Khel, AliZai, Sangeena, Ibrahim Zai and Khawar Kili, but without any loss of life,” the spokesman added.
The jirga was still in Sadda holding talks with Sunni elders to finalise terms of a peace agreement. The spokesman hoped that the jirga would succeed in making both sides sign the agreement and restore peace in the agency.
