Following the government’s efforts to ease tensions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, a seven-day ceasefire was agreed between two warring tribes in the region on Sunday.
The ceasefire comes after the KP government decided to constitute a high-powered commission to settle land disputes between the tribes in the Kurram district as the death toll from recent violence reached 64.
At least 21 more people were killed in fresh clashes yesterday. The violence followed Thursday’s deadly attack, when a convoy of around 200 vehicles came under heavy gunfire in Kurram’s densely populated Bagan town, killing at least 43 people.
Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP chief minister’s adviser on information, said in a statement today that a ceasefire was agreed upon for seven days between the tribes, both of which also decided to return each other’s bodies and prisoners.
A government delegation met the members of the Shia tribe yesterday before meeting the Sunni tribe leaders today, after which it returned to Peshawar, Barrister Saif said.
Separately, while speaking to Reuters, Barrister Saif said that there were “positive developments in engagements with stakeholders”.
Sixteen others were injured in Thursday’s van attacks, 11 of whom were in critical condition. A heavy exchange of fire between rival groups on late Friday left over 30 people wounded.
Sporadic gunfire continued between the two sides at different places in Lower Kurram till Saturday evening.
Bilawal seeks report; Malala expresses concern
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari directed KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to provide a detailed report on the situation in Kurram, a statement by his party said.
Expressing his deep concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the district, he urged that the “safety and security of citizens be ensured immediately”.
“On one hand, the Kurram district is burning in the fire of unrest, and on the other, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is absent from the scene,” the statement quoted Bilawal as saying.
The PPP chief asserted that maintaining law and order was the primary responsibility of the provincial government, but the “PTI-led provincial government has failed to protect the lives and property of the citizens”.
“The [KP] government’s silence during this turmoil is tantamount to being an ally of the terrorists,” he claimed. “We condemn the criminal negligence of the PTI government in Kurram,” Bilawal said.
“My heart is bleeding for the victims, and we cannot stand to see Khyber Pakhtunkhwa burn in the flames of lawlessness,” Bilawal said, pledging his part would play its role in ensuring peace and order not just in Kurram but across KP.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai also expressed her concern over the violent incidents, saying: “My heart aches for the families of Parachinar, Kurram, as sectarian violence escalates and affects every part of daily life, including schools.
“Pakistan’s government and security forces must work together to keep people safe. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa deserve to live in peace,” she asserted in a post on X, shared in English, Urdu and Pashto.
