Tag: Kurram district

A day after 44 people were killed in firing on a convoy in Ochat area of Lower Kurram, at least 18 others have died with 30 injured in overnight clashes in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The incident on Thursday occurred when heavily armed militants targeted a 200-vehicle convoy, which was en route under escort from Parachinar to Peshawar. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud said efforts were being made to re-establish peace in the area, reiterating yesterday’s statement. DC Mehsud and Sajid Hussain Turi, a former PPP MNA from Kurram, confirmed that a high-level meeting was underway in the district for peace efforts.

Turi, one of the meeting’s participants, said KP Inspector General (IG) Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif were also attending the meeting.

He lamented that the security provided to the convoy that was attacked was less than the required amount.

DC Mehsud said officials of security forces and local administration were attending the meeting convened at the DC Conference Hall.

“With the help of local elders, forces and the administration, peace will be established as soon as possible,” the official said. According to reports, the two tribes involved in the dispute are Alizai and Bagan.

Sajid Kazmi, a leader of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), demanded the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the attack.

Speculation also surrounds the involvement of the banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has recently been active in Lower Kurram, prompting fears among the residents.

But government officials attributed the incident to the ongoing land dispute, ruling out sectarian motives.
Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas on Friday.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that mobile signals across the Kurram district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense”.

The official also said a curfew had been “imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram”.

Thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised the government’s failure to protect civilians. Hundreds also demonstrated in Lahore and Karachi, demanding that the violence be stopped for once and for all.

Previous clashes in July and September of this year had claimed dozens of lives and were resolved only after ceasefires were brokered.

38 people, including three women, were killed in an attack when assaulters opened fire on a passenger bus in the Ochat area of the Kurram district on Thursday.

The attacker targeted the convoy, which was travelling from Parachinar to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital, Peshawar, as per the police officials.

Ahmady Shama Station House Officer (SHO) Kaleem Shah confirmed to Dawn that 38 people were killed, including three women, and 11 were injured.

Interior Minister, while speaking to media outside Islamabad High Court (IHC), stated, “This past week has been difficult and upsetting; now 38 people have been martyred in Kurram.”

President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of the dead.

“Attacking innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act,” Pakistan Peoples Party media cell quoted President Zardari, adding that those responsible for the incident must be punished, and he directed that timely medical aid be provided to the injured.

The Kurram attack has been seen as the most lethal attack of the decade in Pakistan’s history, according to reports.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also condemned the attack and directed the Chief Secretary, provincial law minister and the area’s Member National Assembly and Member Provincial Assembly MPA to visit the Kurram district immediately.

“The provincial government, police and all relevant institutions are making serious efforts to improve the law and order situation in the area,” he said.

Kurram Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud told AFP that “Two separate convoys of members of the Shia community … were targeted by the terrorists in the Kurram district.”

“Both convoys consisted of around 40 vehicles travelling under police escort,” DC Mehsud added.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying, “The enemies of the peace of the country attacked the convoy of innocent citizens which is tantamount to brutality. All attempts of anti-national elements to destroy the peace of the beloved country will be thwarted.”

Earlier, around 24 people were killed and 46 injured on November 9 in a bomb blast at Quetta Railway Station.

The banned and militant outfit Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the explosion.

In another attack on November 1, nine people, including five school-going children, were killed, and 29 were injured in a blast near girl’s schools in Mastung, a Balochistan district.