Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa's visit to Parachinar on Tuesday was postponed due to poor weather, according to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The army chief, who recently returned from an official visit to Turkey, was to spend the second day of Eid in Parachinar, the military's media wing said earlier, where at least 72 people died and 200 others were injured in twin blasts last Friday.

However, Gen Bajwa's visit was postponed as his helicopter was unable to reach the location "due to bad weather", the ISPR said, adding that the army chief would "go immediately" once weather conditions are favourable.

The COAS has, over a 48-hour period, held meetings with various religious leaders and clergymen in a bid to encourage sectarian harmony, sources privy to the development told DawnNews.

"We all are united as Muslim and Pakistanis. [The] enemy's attempts to target sectarianism shall not succeed," ISPR quoted the army chief as saying earlier today.

Members of the Shia community in Parachinar, capital of Kurram Agency ─ a mainly Shia area in the tribal belt ─ held protests against the attack claimed by the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi al-Alami.

They said that they would end the sit-in after Gen Bajwa and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar came to negotiate with them.

In the meantime, "army authorities [are] in communication with Parachinar victim's families and local tribal leaders", ISPR said.

Gen Bajwa is also expected to visit Karachi and Quetta after Parachinar, the sources added.

In the days leading up to Eid, the country saw a spate of terror attacks that left at least 90 people dead.

On Friday, at least 14 people including 10 policemen were killed in a blast targeting police in Quetta that was claimed by both the militant Islamic State group and the Jamaatul Ahrar, and in Karachi four policemen were killed in a drive-by shooting as they opened their fast at a roadside restaurant the same day.