PARACHINAR: The killing of two people sparked riots in Sadda town of Kurram tribal district on Tuesday as a mob torched vehicles following which Thall-Parachinar Road was closed to traffic, witnesses and officials said.

Deputy commissioner Shah Fahad said a feud between two families resulted in the killing of a man and his son belonging to Monda village of Lower Kurram. The deceased were identified as Fazal Rehman and his son, Abdul Rashid.

He said personnel of law enforcement agencies had been deployed to the town to restore calm. He said negotiations were underway between the officials and the local administration to defuse tension in the area.

Officials said the man and son, charged in a case of kidnapping two girls about two years ago, had gone to Parachinar for attending a court hearing. The duo was returning when their car was attacked near Topaki village, some 13 kilometres east of Parachinar. The bodies were shifted to Sadda town.

Witnesses said hundreds of protesters blocked the main Thall-Parachinar Road. The mob also set fire to three cars of Turi Bangash tribes moving towards Parachinar. A large number of commuters from upper parts of Kurram got stranded in Thall and Alizai areas.

Ashiq Hussain, a government employee, told Dawn that he was passing through Sadda Bazaar when the mob attacked his car and set it on fire. He said many people were stranded in the troubled town.

Security forces blocked main roads to traffic at different locations to control the situation.

MNA Sajid Hussain Turi expressed concern over the firing incident and attacks on properties in Sadda. He said vested interests were trying to turn a dispute between two families into sectarian issue to disturb peaceful environment in Kurram before the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS).

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2019