The area has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias. — Photo by AFP

PESHAWAR: Eight people were killed and five wounded Friday when gunmen opened fire on two vehicles carrying Shia Muslims in Pakistan's Kurram tribal region in suspected sectarian violence, officials said.

The vehicles were ambushed in the Bagan town of Kurram district, near the Afghan border, and the victims “were all Shia Muslims”, a security official said.

The area has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias.

Local administration official Fazal Hussain told AFP the Shias in a three-vehicle caravan were heading from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“The attackers came in two vehicles. They opened fire and fled, leaving eight people dead, including a woman and a child,” he said.

Opinion

Editorial

Faizabad redux
Updated 02 Oct, 2023

Faizabad redux

TLP was allowed to flourish despite its virulent ideology, recurrently causing immense embarrassment for Pakistani authorities in later years.
Exporting beggars
02 Oct, 2023

Exporting beggars

A RECENT revelation by the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis during a briefing to the Senate has...
Brutalising society
02 Oct, 2023

Brutalising society

THE Senate Standing Committee on Interior passed a bill last week with a majority vote that favoured the public...
Massacre again
Updated 01 Oct, 2023

Massacre again

If this monster is not vanquished at this stage, it will create a security nightmare of significant proportions.
A refuge no longer
01 Oct, 2023

A refuge no longer

SEPTEMBER has seen an alarming rise in the rounding up and detention of Afghan refugees. Pakistani authorities cite...
Whither justice?
01 Oct, 2023

Whither justice?

THE challenge is to ensure bestial tragedies are remembered. Two cases of femicide, involving men from Pakistan’s...