PESHAWAR: Members of both treasury and opposition benches in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday came down hard on the provincial government and law-enforcement agencies over their failure to quell the week-long armed conflict in Kurram tribal district, which has so far resulted in 44 deaths.

They also demanded that Speaker Babar Saleem Swati form a house committee to probe the violence, hold authorities accountable for their failure to maintain law and order, and recommend disciplinary action.

In the session chaired by Mr Swati, PTI-backed MPA from Kurram Ali Hadi said the conflict in his area had left 44 people dead and over 200 injured in the last one week, with hospitals facing medicine shortage and doctors struggling to treat victims.

He also said residents of the troubled area faced difficulties in transporting the injured to Peshawar due to blocked roads.

Members demand formation of house committee to probe violence

Mr Hadi said the fighting groups agreed with the jirga’s decision for peace but the government’s failure to implement it led to the spread of violence across Kurram, leaving relatives of victims questioning the inaction of authorities.

He also criticised media for “blacking out” the conflict and said some people’s act of chopping off a camel’s leg in another province was more important for media houses than bloodshed in Kurram.

The lawmaker urged the government to provide aerial transportation for the injured to Peshawar saying road travels pose a threat to their lives.

PTI-backed MPA from Kohat district Shafiullah Jan said that life in his constituency had been literally paralysed for the last one week.

He warned that if violence in Bannu and Kurram wasn’t checked, it would spread to the rest of the province.

The lawmaker said the late night negotiations on Monday led to the reopening of the Kohat-Kurram Road, which was blocked by the locals but it was blocked again three hours later by 10-12 non-locals.

“I told the local elders to convince those protesters to reopen the road, but they expressed helplessness saying they don’t know who those individuals are,” he said.

Mr Jan questioned the state’s inability to stop a small group of people from blocking a major road and hindering the shifting of the injured to the hospitals.

He complained that the ambulances carrying the injured had to wait for eight to 10 hours on the road, with some succumbing to their injuries before reaching the hospital.

“I request state institutions to take action to end the armed conflict and reopen the Kohat-Kurram Road,” he said.

Opposition MPA Ahmad Kareem Kundi said that it was strange that lawmakers of the ruling party, too, showed concern about violence in Kurram.

He said it was the provincial government’s responsibility to maintain law and order in the district.

Mr Kundi wondered why the government didn’t suspend Kurram’s deputy commissioner or district police officer over their failure to quell unrest.

PTI lawmaker from Peshawar Fazl Illahi demanded that the speaker form a house committee to probe the matter and produce a report.

He also urged him to summon the relevant officials to the assembly to explain their position on deaths in Kurram.

Responding to the members’ criticism, law minister Aftab Alam Afridi insisted that it was initially a land dispute but later became a sectarian conflict.

He claimed that the situation in the tribal district had calmed down as the chief minister was in constant contact with the top bosses of the local police and administration.

The minister said the government would take strict action against troublemakers.

He said aerial transportation would be provided for the injured if the need arose.

The house also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the KP Mines and Minerals (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the KP Finance (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

The chair later put off the session until Friday.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2024