KURRAM: A sit-in against the closure of roads in Kurram district entered its sixth day on Wednesday as a government-sponsored jirga continued to hold talks with elders from both the sides to restore peace to the region.

The Kurram tribesmen organised the sit-in in Parachinar amid a worsening shortage of daily-use items and medicines in the restive district. The protesters on Wednesday placed bodies of the two passengers, who were killed in Bagan area of lower Kurram, some three days ago, demanding immediate action against the killers.

All roads in Kurram, including Parachinar-Peshawar highway, have remain closed to traffic since Nov 21 after a vehicular convoy was attacked in Bagan area, in which at least 50 people were killed. The attack triggered the worst clashes in the district, which resulted in the killing of scores of people from both the sides.

Parachinar tehsil council chairman Agha Muzammil threatened on Wednesday that he and other local government representatives would resign from their positions to protest the prolonged road closures.

A tribal elder, Malik Syed Asghar, told Dawn on Wednesday that the 50-member strong official jirga held several sessions with the elders of the two sides in Parachinar, adding that a breakthrough was expected soon.

The protesters demanded immediate re-opening of the Peshawar-Parachinar highway as the continuous closure of road had resulted in shortage of essential items in the district.

Meanwhile, Sky Wings Aviation on Wednesday announced its plan to operate air ambulance for Parachinar.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sky Wings Aviation Imran Aslam Khan in a statement said that they had decided to immediately operate an air ambulance service for Parachinar, stating that they had allocated two modern aircraft for this purpose.

He said the modern Piper Seneca aircraft had been imported for the air ambulance service of Punjab’s Rescue 1122 which was presently under inspection of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). He expressed the hope that the CAA would soon release the aircraft for air operation in Parachinar.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024