KURRAM: Tribal clashes that have been ongoing for the past seven days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram District, claiming 49 lives and leaving more than 200 people injured, have come to a halt, the deputy commissioner (DC) said on Tuesday.
According to the police and district administration, armed clashes between Boshehra and Maleekhel tribesmen began on the evening of July 24.
Despite efforts from a jirga of elders from the Hangu and Orakzai districts to secure a ceasefire, fighting continued, with both sides using heavy weapons to target each other’s positions. The hostilities soon spread to other areas, including Peewar, Tangi, Balishkhel, Khaar Kalay, Maqbal, Kunj Alizai, Para Chamkani, and Karman.
“Both tribes have agreed to a ceasefire and the clashes have been halted since last night,” Kurram DC Javedullah Mehsud said. “The parties were made to clear their bunkers, and security forces have been deployed, with no gunfire reported at five locations in Kurram District,” he asserted.
He added that a ceasefire brokered by jirga members on Sunday was “largely” adhered to, but fighting resumed on Monday.
The medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital, Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, reported that the killing of 14 more people on Monday brought the death toll to 49. He revealed that 210 people were injured in the clashes, with at least 12 critically wounded and shifted to Peshawar for treatment.
Following Monday’s ceasefire, further efforts to sustain peace in the region are underway. Mehsud added that a grand jirga, Kohat’s General Officer Commanding (GOC) of nine infantry divisions, and Kohat Division’s Deputy Inspector-General and Commissioner were present in Parachinar City for peace efforts.
